Jaune's Odd Experience DX
by Shinku Ryuuga
Summary: Jaune finds himself in possession of a Semblance that no one would ever think possible. After all, there was no such thing as an invisible giant made of pale muscles and gold armor. (A plot bunny that I decided to expand on. Rating subject to change down the line.)
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to Jaune's Odd Experience DX**

* * *

Jaune shook himself out a bit after Pyrrha took a few steps back. The tingling on his cheek as he glowed white was probably indicating that his cut was healing. Into a tiny scar or no? That'd be a little weird. And because it acted so quickly he had a lot? Weird way to put it, but cool! Maybe he'd be able to turn it into some sorta projectile or something, like on TV!

...Jaune laughed a bit as he and Pyrrha resumed walking. "Not laughing at you, just thought of something funny. How much of what we do is depicted right on TV again? I don't watch much any more, but I heard about what's popular now and then." That got the redhead to think for a moment, arms behind her back while humming.

And that was his cue to turn back to the path in front of them, no need to turn her opinion around so quickly. Time passed nicely in that manner, just talking about some things not related to the almost certain death that lurked around them. Given Pyrrha's experience, this was a good thing. Less negative emotions being exuded meant less chance the Grimm would feel like attacking you. Unless you got too happy and too close, that could provoke them too.

* * *

"IT'S NOT A RELIC, PYRRHA! I-I-IT'S NOOOOOT!"

* * *

Jaune looked back at the three fighting the Deathstalker. "We've gotta help them!" He did not like the way Nora gave a determined look and started to "Nora, no no nonononono no-AAAAAHHH!" The sudden change from crouching to flying was not particularly enjoyable. Still, he had Crocea Mors out and ready. Time to use it. He might not be trained, but Jaune's aura still sent strength to his limbs as he beat back the giant pincers with Pyrrha.

No one noticed the slight golden tinge his legs took on as he jumped back a bit, thinking of a plan. That month binging on strategy games did work, it looked!

* * *

Jaune slowly yawned and sat up. It was a weekend, the third one he'd had since coming to Beacon. Team JNPR had quickly settled into a good routine, in his mind. No one disturbed his beauty sleep when Friday ended, and it was only... 8:30 AM. Late for most people at this school, but Jaune felt it worked just fine for him and his former public school going ass. On days off like this, anyway. His eyes ghosted over the pale giant coated in gold armaments before he started going abou

The blond focused on the giant. That was floating there. It was about a meter from him, and Jaune didn't have anything wrong with his eyes, so he was able to look at what it had without any problems. That was a surprising amount of hearts on a thing that looked so intimidating. "Uh... hi?"

The giant didn't respond. Merely looked at him impassively. ...this guy had a LOT of muscles. Why wasn't he saying anything? Jaune brought a hand up to rub his eyes a bit, and on lowering them saw the giant had disappeared. Well. That was weird. Maybe he was a bit more sleepy than he'd thought. But what sort of waking dream would have THAT sort of thing show up? Eesh. The team leader went to take a shower, hoping that he'd waken up late enough for the hot water to come back. Who'd have thought Ren could take so long in the shower if allowed?

* * *

Jaune hadn't mentioned the giant to anyone, mostly because it hadn't appeared any more and he didn't want to be laughed at. It was especially weird that he could still recall what the giant looked like with perfect clarity. Almost like he were looking at himself. If Jaune were a pale giant of muscles wearing gold armor and perpetually frowning.

He'd tried to recreate that look in the mirror once a couple days ago. It had been quite humorous to see himself trying to look so serious, and trying to make a mask from his fingers hadn't made it any better. At least Jaune knew that wasn't a vision of the future or something. Wouldn't that be a worrisome Semblance?

He had noticed something weird when sparring with Pyrrha though. Occasionally she'd stagger as if the sword swings he sent her way were stronger than Jaune and his partner knew were possible. He'd tried to channel aura into his limbs the way she'd instructed, and while that was still a failure to do consistently, he had still managed to stagger Pyrrha four times in their last ten training sessions. He'd raised the question of why a random rooftop of Beacon's dormitories, and her reasoning had been sound enough at the time. Still, he doubted that the champion would be able to keep him from falling every time.

Sitting down to lunch, Jaune decided to train his aura channeling again. Pushing down on the edge of his tray gently, he slowly got the bit of metal to crumple under his finger. Grinning, the blond tried to undo the damage before digging into his food. Beacon definitely had some good stuff to choose from, especia-dammit, Cardin...

Jaune wondered what his classmate's problem was, and clenched his fist a bit. As his friends focused on the abuse, no one noticed the gold tinge his fist took on for a second. One of the many girls nearby felt something odd in the air, but dismissed it as a random feeling. She got those every few days. It might have a name and reason for that name, but she was fairly sure that no one in her current year had the ability as she did. Quite a few had the potential, that was for sure. But none were able to make theirs tangible the way she could.

As the rabbit girl went on her way, slightly teary eyed from pain but with her lunch tray untouched, everyone went back to what they were doing. Which was eating their own food. Some took their frustration out on their food while others were a bit more vocal. Jaune was of the former category. What he wouldn't give to knock that darn guy down a peg or five...

* * *

Training had halted quite abruptly as Jaune stared at the reason his sword swings were so much stronger. Pyrrha couldn't see it for some reason, but she knew it was there. The quickly forming bruise under her corset was proof of that. "...and you're positive you can't see this thing? This thing that is floating right here, in the open, after leaving a dent in your armor?"

Pyrrha nodded a bit, grimacing a bit as breathing wrong made her side flare up. "I am. That sounds like quite the Semblance, to make a man out of thin air. My own is a bit more inconspicuous. I'm sure we can figure out how to work this into your strategies. After all, no one will expect to get hit when your shield is blocking their attacks." Okay, maybe a bit less talking for now. No need to make it worse. Just breathing would make the bruise move against her corset, padding lined as the inside was.

Jaune looked at her now, and frowned. "You go to the infirmary, Pyrrha. Or at least to bed. I'll... be down in a bit. Got some things to think about." He bid her good night after a bit of convincing that yes training was over and that it wouldn't do either of them good if she were to show up to combat practice tomorrow afternoon in bad condition. Jaune looked at the giant again, and furrowed his brow a bit.

The next night was about the same. Pyrrha lasted a little longer because her danger sense managed to pick up on the fact that the invisible giant still had to go through air resistance to try and punch her. He still had to help her back to their room because of how badly she'd gotten hit. At least the bruises would go away after a good night's sleep.

* * *

One week since he'd first managed to get the giant to appear under his own power, and Jaune had found that two of his current friends were able to help. Ren didn't have any idea why the giant was there or how it was connected to his leader, but Blake Belladonna of all people had some helpful hints. They were in combat class, and Jaune knew he'd go up against Cardin Winchester again soon. Still, the yellow eyed girl was a big help.

"Don't worry about what to call it just yet, that will come to you naturally later. For now, you need some sort of word or something to either override instinct or just straight up command it. My own Stand, Stray Cat, was called on when I clicked my teeth back when I first started using her. But now that I've had a few year's practice, I'm able to have her work with my thoughts. Saves me a bit of toothache too." That part was a bit more amusing than he'd thought. But that was as far as Blake managed to get before Miss Goodwitch called him and the mace wielder to the arena.

Jaune looked at the brunet straight on for a moment before drawing his sword and shield. His giant floated next to him, silent as usual, but now a reassuring presence after a week. While Miss Goodwitch waited for Cardin to finish his jeering, the young blond just glared at him. Not something overexaggerated, but Jaune knew what he wanted to do. "Y'know, Cardin." That got him to shut up, and Glynda looked at him curiously. "I'm going to refute everything you've just said by showing you just how useless everything you have is. Your weapon, your armor, your Dust-damned face... Maybe your legs too." That got an excited whoop from the peanut gallery.

While Cardin looked incensed, Miss Goodwitch called for the match to begin. Cardin brought his mace up like he was aiming a hunting rifle, and- **KRAAH!** -fired a giant Dust round at Jaune, who started walking... no, who started _sauntering_ over. "Useless." **KRANG! BOOM!** The audience looked quite surprised as Cardin's shot didn't hit Jaune, instead being redirected upwards at the ceiling. Without the sword and board Huntsman-in-training doing anything. Since it was reinforced, Miss Goodwitch just watched curiously and didn't reprimand either young leader. Cardin sneered and got over his surprise before **KRAAH!**

"Useless." **KRANG! BOOM!**

 **KRAAH!** "Useless." **KRANG! BOOM!**

 **KRAAH!** "Useless." **KRANG! BOOM!**

 **KRAAH!** "Useless." **KRANG! BOOM!**

 **KRAAH!** "Useless." **KRANG! BOOM!**

 **KRA-** "Useless!" **KRANG! BOOM!** "Gugha!"

Cardin staggered back a bit before deciding to switch to attacking Jaune at melee range, since he'd just gotten his own shot redirected at him from way too close. Incensed as he was, the Winchester was still trained. His anger made him fight a little less smartly, but he still went for attacks that would knock Jaune down quickly and had before. This time, he was ready.

"Useless." A swipe of his sword redirected the mace with almost too much ease before Cardin's head was knocked back by his giant's fist. The blond kept to a simple reactionary tactic for now, simply saying "Useless." every time his brunet opponent tried something. While the larger knight certainly matched the invisible giant for height, the difference between which one had muscles was apparent by how quickly Cardin's aura was depleting on the screen. And the quick bursts of strength that the giant gave Jaune (or was that his own aura at work?) helped give an illusion of being more powerful than he really was right now.

Eventually, Jaune got bored of just reacting. "Muda!" Cardin staggered back again, a fist having pulled away from his stomach quickly. "Muda!" This time he went to a side, a spinning back kick leaving the impression of a heel on his cheek. "Muda!" The kick was followed up with a simple uppercut that gave Cardin two seconds airtime. "Muuuda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda MUDA!" The giant let loose a barrage of punches on his target's torso. The metal of his breastplate bent and dented quite easily under the assault. "And the finisher! You're useless!" Cardin was sent flying by a last back hand, landing outside the arena with his aura completely depleted on the monitor. Jaune watched him fly for a bit before recalling the giant. He looked to Miss Goodwitch as she called him the victor.

 _To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

Jaune grinned a bit as he sits back down between Ren and Blake. That was a much better match than he'd anticipated. "Thanks for the advice, Blake. I wouldn't have done nearly as well without it." He probably would've lost again, but got in some good hits at least. Instead of Cardin limping back to his seat, he was being dragged by his team. The blond felt quite proud of that accomplishment.

"Don't mention it, Jaune. I figured you could do with some positives on your loss record." The 'disguised' Faunus smirked a bit as her friends, and Weiss, were amused and shocked by her words. Yang had to stifle her boisterous laughter so as to not draw Miss Goodwitch's ire. Nora felt differently and was quite loud about it. Pyrrha tried to make it look like she was coughing, and failed. Ruby followed her sister's example and stifled her chuckles. Ren smirked a little wider than normal, his own form of expressing amusement. Weiss sat stock still, torn between laughing and scolding her teammate. Given no one else was, she eventually came to-"Our next combatants are Miss Weiss Schnee and Mister Sky Lark." The heiress stood and just nodded to her team and JNPR before making her way down to the arena.

"You got this in the bag, Weiss!" Ruby called as her partner entered the ring. Jaune figured the same as he leaned back, resting a bit. His aura hadn't gone down very much, just about ten percent if he read his scroll right, but that was still odd to him. The giant had taken all the hits, so there wasn't a reason why he had received damage... or why his hands hurt...

"Blake, you called it a Stand, right? Do I feel what a Stand does when they're punching things?" The team leader looked as his currently covered knuckles. He knew what they should have looked like under, unblemished and a little tanner than the rest of his arm. Instead, they felt and probably looked to be bruised and red. Not broken, like if he'd tried to use his normal hands on Cardin's armor, but definitely like those few times he had tried to take up boxing at home.

The stealth fighter shook her head. "Not when they're attacking, but when they're damaged, yes. It is a weird paradox that I and the one other Stand user I know never quite figured out. Your Stand being hurt by Cardin's shots doesn't surprised me. From a cannon like that, most things would start to buckle quickly." Jaune nodded a bit and looked to see how Weiss was doing against Sky. Taking him apart handily was the best descriptor for the fight. The Schnee heiress stayed at range while Sky tried to get in close. That method was not working for him.

* * *

Robots charging at him were knocked down swiftly and with extreme prejudice. Shots that could be deflected easily were knocked aside by a shield, the ones that had to be dodged were not being tanked on purpose, and those were just the ones he could sense coming nearby! Jaune felt pain and sore and generally not very positive right now, but he was making progress in his durability. And that part was actually nice.

"Stop, stop. End program!" The robots slowed and then took a neutral stance as his current teacher walked over. The yellow eyed girl crossed her arms over her chest as she gave Jaune a look. "You're not moving nearly as much as you should be. You're meant to be a stable shield that faces just one way, I know. But you have to move your body just as urgently as I do when I'm dodging. So stop grinding End and start raising your Dex, dammit!" At first, these small references to old school games had thrown Jaune off. It had taken a few days to learn that Blake both knew and had enjoyed the pastime when she was younger. And she took training Jaune very seriously, both in how to be quicker on his feet and how to use his Stand better.

Speaking of the giant that spawns from his mind, Jaune had figured out that it had only one real power. Being a very strong punch man. Very strong, very fast, very intimidating if anyone else could see it and definitely a threat to those that knew he could use SOMEthing that no one could see but left definite bruises and broken bones and mechanical parts in opponents. But it still just hit things at melee range, with a travel radius of about 2 meters around Jaune. Blake had told him that Stands and Semblances were very different things. Demonstrated, really. It had been the only time he'd seen Stray Cat being used, but he knew that his friend used her Stand just about every fight to make dodging easier.

* * *

 _Jaune stood in a clearing with Blake, the noon sky of a weekend seen up above. However, the relative fluffiness of the clouds weren't what he was looking for today. This was his first real lesson on what it meant to have a Stand, and to have a Stand and Semblance that complimented each other. They had left their weapons in their rooms, since Blake wasn't planning on having Jaune fight anything just yet._

 _"First lesson: My Semblance isn't actually clones that I can interact with. They're afterimages from me being able to move so fast in such a small space. If Ruby could get her control of her Semblance, she would leave a lot more than rose petals behind her. Anyway, let me show you what I mean." Blake shifted to a side, the original motioning for Jaune to poke the afterimage. So he did._

 _He blinked and waved his hand a bit through the afterimage's head and torso. It disappeared after three swipes. "Huh. I've seen you jump off yourself before, so this is a little weird. So, what does your Stray Cat do to make this not an afterimage and more like an obstacle?"_

 _Blake smirked a bit and summoned her Stand. Stray Cat was not what he'd have imagined. Jaune wasn't quite sure what he'd been expecting, but a cat shaped blob of purple fur was not it. The supernatural feline had no eyes, or really a face at all. It was just a small cat, maybe the size of an almost grown kitten, that stood on Blake's shoulders. The blob 'looked' around cautiously. "She makes the normally untouchable, touchable. Watch." Blake made a motion to touch the new clone._

 _Jaune reached out to poke the third Blake and blinked again. Bringing his hand up to try and poke the cheek next, he was surprised to find his hand stopped with a light glare before the clone dissipated. That was not what he'd expected. "...not just touchable, they can react. Or is it just when it looks like you?" Man, if Blake was on his team instead of Ruby's, the applications for this..._

 _"Just when it looks like me. And it isn't only my afterimages. Try and bump me." She held up a fist, Stray Cat turning to 'glance' at her hand before Jaune started moving. With his own fingerless gloved fist, he went to bump Blake's. And found he couldn't. Trying again a few times, he made it through the sudden barrier to her hand to bump it with a bit more force than planned. But she had taken worse hits than Jaune trying to bump her fist harder than usual. "Stray Cat is pretty good about keeping me safe. But using her powers is just like using my Semblance or one of my more aura-intensive moves. So I keep her mostly to just the clones, though I can shield myself from bullets and such every now and then."_

 _Jaune gawked at her and her Stand. "...I don't think I'll ever be as versatile as you, Blake. What can't you do with your Semblance, training and Stray Cat?" She smiled a bit at the honest praise. It felt good to brag to someone that actually could see what was going on._

* * *

Laying out on the floor, Jaune groaned a bit. "Why did you make them start using taser bullets?"

* * *

Food fights were not a good place to use punch men, Jaune found. At least his couldn't be sent flying like Yang was. His friends had some creative ways to extend their aura over things. Too bad he couldn't go home to get some pointers without being able to return to Beacon. It was a good thing the Hunstman academy didn't make students leave over the break between semesters. He needed to get some new clothes soon... and maybe a part time job.

* * *

Jaune looked over the mission board with his team, debating with Pyrrha and Ren which one to go on. Nora just wanted to get going soon. The Valkyrie would be waiting for a day or so, though. JNPR walked out with the other first year teams as RWBY stayed behind. He was confident they'd find a mission for them.

 _To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

Jaune put his clothes in a backpack, mentally going over a list of what else to pack. He had enough room for rations, maybe a couple meals to reheat over a campfire or something when they got to the village and started patrolling the area. Turning to his closet, he smirks a bit at seeing the dress again. His sneakers may have clashed horribly with it when he and his team were all dancing, but it felt good to get Pyrrha out of that funk a couple days ago. Right now, he had other things to do. Clothes were done... wait, one more pair of socks just in case... the armor would be sitting next to him when he went to sleep, likely on top of Crocea Mors, so that was all good... Shoes were still in good condition, as were gloves. "Alright, that's everything I can get from in here."

Looking around the room, the blond leader saw two out of three teammates. "Ren, Nora, ideas for reheated meals while we're out? That aren't pancakes?" The hammer swinger deflated a bit at that before her partner assured she could bring some. With that, the gunslinger turned to his friend, giving a few suggestions that were healthy and likely tasted as good as a wheatgrass shake.

Jaune picks up his scroll to check that those were on the approved foods list for missions while Ren talked. "...And that should be able to last us a few days without needing an ice pack or something. It's good to see you're choosing these now, Jaune. Anything else I can help you with?"

"Mm... what's a good gi-Pyrrha, hey. Welcome back. Professor Peach say when she'd be able to take us?" The Mistrali nodded and relayed that they'd leave in two days, the second earliest team. RWBY was leaving that afternoon with Doctor Oobleck, so that was another paper they'd be hanging onto for a while longer. With almost every authority figure at Beacon going with a team of Huntsmen and Huntresses in training, classes had been canceled for the week. There weren't enough teachers even with the substitutes, who were also supervising students when possible. Some teams had missions that kept them close enough to report to Miss Goodwitch directly at the end of the day, as she wouldn't be going either.

"So why were you so eager to head to this village, Ren? Did you and Nora meet there?" Pyrrha grinned a bit as Nora launched into another tangent about their relationship status. The blond and redhead had spent enough time with them and asked enough questions to learn that Nora and Ren would never be a couple because they felt too much like siblings to each other. But the Valkyrie's first reaction to sentences with that sort of inflection was still to talk a little about how she and Ren were together but not together-together. Even among friends that knew.

"Nora and I have a few old friends there. I'm curious if they're still living there since the only working scroll, from the last time we were out there, would be in the village leader's office. Not something to play around with, so we haven't been able to keep in touch very much." Given how remote the place was, Jaune could understand that. If a settlement, big or small, had a post office, it usually only went around locally. Taking that much mail out where an unlucky Grimm encounter could make deliveries impossible? Not a good practice, the various mail services had learned after a few months. Thankfully the old industry had gotten wiser about that sort of thing quickly.

Pyrrha nods at the explanation and starts for the closet to grab her own travel bag. Unlike her teammates and their standard issued packs, Pyrrha's bag was a sponsored item she had kept from a commercial run. It had held up for five years, and had plenty left in it... so long as nothing sharp went through it. That was the only way she had found the bag could be damaged. Rather, determined by process of elimination. The commercials had all been real tests run by her own hand under cameras. The last commercial filmed had been a swipe from a past version of Milo, so Pyrrha knew for herself just how strong this version was. The company had contacted her about testing a new one, but given she had been in class when the call came, the champion had to refuse it. Both because the company was back in Mistral where they did most of their business, and the new version had too many pockets, in her mind.

Shaking her head of superfluous thoughts, Pyrrha saw she'd managed to pack her normal assortment of things to take minus rations already. Extra clips, some changes of clothes, a tiara repair kit, and some extra bits of armor that would turn her normal combat outfit into a more protective one. They would be going against Grimm mostly after all, and they rarely had enough iron anywhere on them for her polarity Semblance to do any work. Though both pieces looked to be flawless, that was because she had worked out as many kinks as she could over the years. It had been her original combat outfit before she started... expanding, after all. Growth had necessitated change.

Along with her stupid manager. How that woman convinced her to change to this...

* * *

Jaune looked over the Grimm as the Bullhead came to a stop in the air. He hopped down first, followed by his team. "Alright, let's go!" Ren stuck to hit and run tactics as usual when fighting on his own, while Nora went hog on the Grimm. Pyrrha made use of her weapon's versatility and her Semblance to be a whirling red and gold dervish of death to the soulless monsters.

Jaune grinned as he brought down an Ursa with just a few slashes. No giant, no Pyrrha, no help at all. That felt good. He charged into the fray, seeing another Bullhead was on the way but not wanting to step aside because of that fact just yet. He had a few areas to save from Grimm attacks, and some people.

A few minutes later, he found himself just as in awe of team CFVY's abilities as his teammates. What did Velvet have in store that she'd been saving up? Still, a minigun that turned into a handbag? That took some serious strength to lug around. The armored giant not connected to his soul had the simplest weapon, and just one swing had dispersed or destroyed a crowd of Grimm. And the redhead's ability to make a Grimm explode from a few well placed punches put Ren's to shame! And these guys were just second year students?! What sort of awesome things would his own class be able to do after a year... hell, after graduating? The possibilities were definitely going to give him good dreams for a long time.

The pale giant floated behind him, seeing all that was in view and judging without anyone's notice. Only one was found worthy. It'd be used in due time.

 _To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 4

Jaune looked over some recordings of his past fights. He frowned a bit at how quickly Cardin had smacked around his Stand-less self. And the amount of times he became even more useless without his sword... he'd need to rectify that for the future. It'd be slow but worth it, he felt. "Hey Ren? I have a question."

The rest of JNPR looked over to their leader, sitting on their respective beds and doing some homework. "After we get back from the mission, would you mind teaching me how to fight hand-to-hand? I don't want to be made useless without Crocea Mors, and I don't want to rely on my Stand exclusively." While Blake had said it had a name, Jaune had never gotten the giant to say it. To be fair, she had come up with Stray Cat after listening to a song, but Jaune felt that music wasn't where he'd learn the method of naming his own Stand. He just thought a bit of home whenever that entered his mind. Did one of his sisters have the answer?

"I don't mind, Jaune. But, won't this interfere with your training with Pyrrha and Blake?" The champion looked at her partner for a second before answering for him.

"No, he's at a point where most of the techniques I can teach him would need him to make a weapon like mine. And that's before the fact that I also use my Semblance extensively, if not very openly." It was definitely not well noticed by the general school populous that Pyrrha never really scooped up her spear or shield after they were thrown at opponents. She never even slid Akouo onto her arm except when first equipping it and Milo. One of the benefits of a polarity Semblance and a magnetic vambrace for keeping it on her arm. "And Blake's taught him almost everything she can as well. She and I have talked about you a few times, Jaune. You're quite the sponge when you're learning on your feet, have I ever told you that? At the least, you'll be able to ace the practical exams after the Festival."

The blond looked up and grinned at his team, Pyrrha in particular. "Thanks. So yeah, there you go. And it isn't like we can't make this a team experience or something. But we can hammer out those kinds of details later. What do you think Ren, wanna help me?"

The black haired boy thought for a second before nodding. Nora whooped at the thought before starting to babble on about what they'd do together in the arena. Her partner just smirked a bit in amusement before turning back to Jaune. "We'll need to get you some new pants. The village we'll be guarding will have some that will let you move around better than jeans. At least you don't wear skinny jeans, adjusting from those would probably take a lot longer."

Jaune felt it was unneeded to say that he pulled off skinny jeans quite well, but enjoying wearing them was a different matter. He only had enough room for his scroll in one pocket and his wallet in the other, but he pulled off the look well, especially in a purple shirt. "I see. Well, why don't you watch me and Pyrrha spar and draw up a lesson plan or something?" Ren nodded at that before turning back to his homework.

Nora was still rambling, her only audience Pyrrha.

* * *

Jaune rose an eyebrow as the Bullhead they were on hovered over the edge of the forest, looking at the clearing they would be hopping down to. Going down, he rolled a bit as his team followed, Professor Peach landing ahead of them. The eagle Faunus looked back at them, smiling at them. "Well, this is going to be an interesting experience! It has been quite a bit since I've been in the field, but I'm sure you four will be able to guard the village well. Jaune, as team leader, I'll be leaving most of the most major decisions to you."

With that, the Professor waved a hand, allowing Jaune to take point. After conferring with Ren and Nora for a moment, the blond nodded and started walking. The Bullhead's engines were already starting to fade, so they'd be without air support for a while. They were slated to be here for a week, and the Vytal Festival tournament was going to start two weeks after they returned.

* * *

Skidding back a bit under the moon, Jaune grinned at Pyrrha. The two of them were panting, something that was not too uncommon now. He only allowed his Stand to attack once this whole spar, and it was to make an opening. Jaune may not have enjoyed using it against his partner, but there were times when he needed to or it would make sense tactically. Getting used to that mindset meant practice. Some slow clapping started, followed by a faster set of hands. "That was quite impressive. I see Blake already laid the foundations. I should be able to improve on that when we return to Beacon. Nora, your thoughts?"

The bubbly orangette thought for a second before nodding. "You need to move your torso a bit more, Jaune! A strong core is fine and all, but there are some attacks you could've dodged a lot easier than deflected or blocked. And maybe not on Pyrrha, but you need some more counterattacks. Try it on the Grimm in a few minutes! We've got another patrol soon, don't we?"

Pyrrha checked her scroll. "She's right. My alarm is ten minutes from going off. Should we start early?" There was a consensus between JNPR that starting their fourth patrol of the third day now wouldn't hurt. The Grimm might not have been as active in these parts, but there was still the chance some appeared on the perimeter. The team went to start their patrol under the moonlight, Professor Peach having turned in earlier. Right after dinner, actually.

Like yesterday, the nightly patrol would be uneventful, but no action was good news for this village.

 _To be continued..._


	5. Chapter 5

Returning from their mission, Jaune grinned a bit as team JNPR disembarked. Talking with his team and Professor Peach had definitely distracted him from the need to vomit on the Bullhead. Hopefully they'd be able to hold such long conversations again next time. For now, he lead his team back to the dorms after they collected their bags. He was currently wearing an outfit that would've been more at home on Ren, but the colors were more suited to the Arc. Pyrrha and Nora had their own new additions to their outfit roster, but had dressed normally for the flight back. Ren didn't return with any 'new' clothes, just replacements for a couple torn shirts.

"I might have to go back there to get more of this outfit, Ren, these are really quite comfortable." The pony tailed boy smiled a bit at that. To the casual observer, it wasn't much of a smile and more of a twitch, but team JNPR knew each other well. The jeering that Jaune was walking around in pajamas was ignored easily.

* * *

Ren waited in a clearing on the edge of the Emerald Forest. He was currently meditating, regulating his breath and feeling for the area his Semblance placed itself. While his control over aura was impeccable, his Semblance was quite a bit different. It needed something that he hadn't quite figured out. The times he felt strongest were right after a good night's sleep, or after he had gotten a good gulp of air. After experimentation as a child, he had figured out it wasn't some odd form of air manipulation in the area surrounding him he had, but the power to control the oxygen inside Ren's own body. With it, he could do... not a lot, right now. But it did make for some good party tricks and had useful applications outside combat. He still needed to train a lot more to get it ready for use against the Grimm.

The crunching of grass alerted Ren to someone approaching. Given the heavy footfalls, and sound of a sheathed weapon tapping a thigh rhythmically, impossibly well forged steel sliding along a leg before falling and repeating, he figured it was his team leader. Early bird when it comes to training indeed. Jaune didn't speak up or announce his presence though, for which he was grateful. There was still some exercises to do inside his body for another few moments.

After Jaune had started doing a few forms with Crocea Mors, Ren figured now would be a good time to start. "Jaune." The green-clad boy spun to a standing position, the grass shifting back to where it was before with only a few blades attached to his shoes. "Time to start. Attack me with your sword, and we'll go from there." The Arc looked inquisitive for a moment before nodding. The two boys readied themselves, one calm and the other determined. This would be a learning experience for them both.

* * *

The visitors from other Kingdoms were arriving still, the Vacuon Shade Academy students the last to arrive in full. Weiss was constantly scoping out competitors, of which most of those that had come were. The Tournament was still a week away, and team RWBY was excited for the most part. Ruby herself was in bliss over all the new (weapons) friends to meet, Weiss was as mentioned before but trying to be discreet, Blake was curious about the attitudes some students had about almost everything they saw, and Yang was ready to bust some heads already. If it weren't for the fact she'd get in trouble that the blonde couldn't afford right now for it, some illegal sparring matches would've been going on. It was a shame, she would've loved to gamble some of these kids out of some lien.

Team JNPR was amused by how much had changed in just the past couple weeks. Currently, it was their collective day off from all physical exercise not mandated by combat class. Jaune was wearing a black pair of jeans, a brown shirt and a red vest with the Arc emblem on it, his shoes the same sneakers as ever. Nora was in black short shorts, pale stockings and sneakers instead of her normal boots. For her top, she was wearing a white sleeveless shirt under a pink tank with a heart necklace. Pyrrha was in black capris, a bronze colored shirt and a maroon jacket, with her normal combat boots on except for most of the armor having been taken off, along with her pony tail being lower than usual and her usual tiara staying at the dorm. Ren was wearing some white slacks and a green sweater over a black polo, along with his usual shoes.

Watching the various things going on and partaking in a few of the stalls around the Festival grounds, team JNPR looked like a double date for the most part, given the partners were next to each other and Nora was walking arm in arm with Ren. Neither pair otherwise engaged in romantic actions, though the longer haired redhead would have quite liked to do so. Next time, she told herself. As she had most times she and Jaune had gone out on the town by themselves.

As they walked around the festival grounds, team JNPR did their own things. Jaune and Pyrrha discretely checked out the various student Huntsmen and Huntresses, playing a few games here and there out of convenience and sometimes genuinely wanting to play it or this or that plush toy to be won (most of them would be staying on Pyrrha's entirely too large shelf dedicated to her personal collection). Ren tried to keep Nora on the very short leash that was his arm. For this beginning part of their excursion, he was doing well. But past experience let him know that this would not be indicative of even two minutes into the future.

As Jaune was trying to get put his lackluster swordplay skills into effect with a holographic cutting game, Pyrrha watched, smiling in amusement and a bit of pride since she didn't want any of the prizes except the grand prize of the stand, but getting it would require a bit of cheating even from her given what the game was. Still, she got to see her partner carve up holographic Grimm, and he was doing fairly well. It was a survival game, where you got points based on how flashy you killed a Grimm and how long you didn't get hurt was the multiplier for points. Her rare Semblance allowed Pyrrha not just control over most metallic objects, but also a sense of where people were based on how much they were wearing that was metallic. It wasn't perfect, she could get tricked if someone with an equally rare illusion Semblance messed with her head. She'd encountered only two during her days at the Mistral Combat Prep School, both first years on their first meeting, one in her year but a different class and the other had been a new entry during her third year.

Turning her attention back to the present, this holo-game would be her weak point. While she had a good awareness of her surroundings without relying on her Semblance, being surrounded by enough metal as the game's booth-in-a-booth demanded would mess with her enough she'd likely lose track of where people were some times, let alone the holographic Grimm which would become white noise against her combat instincts. Jaune, on the other hand, had apparently played in this sort of game before. The positions of where Grimm came from were randomized to the best of her knowledge, so seeing the blond almost supernaturally know where to slash with the hardlight sword, and do so in quite the flamboyant manner, was a testament to her teachings.

And funny as all get out.

No need to tell him that, though.

Jaune would've lasted a lot longer than ten minutes if he hadn't been interrupted by the weirdest thing: A little boy running into the darkened area lit up by fun lights and dancing. After the boy's mother came by, Jaune looked to the booth runner blankly. He didn't think that he'd get his money back or a chance to redo it, and was right going by the sheepish smile. Still, the young woman in charge said that Jaune had gotten a lot more points than anyone before him. Like, getting the grand prize twice over more. So he did that. Along with a candy bar with his leftover points.

Pyrrha blinked as she was handed one of the small axe pendants. "Jaune, you didn't ne-"

"I wanted to. Come on, let's go get something to drink, I am VERY thirsty after all that!" The redhead blushed a bit as she walked with Jaune, hand in hand and two pendants bouncing on chests, the symbol of Beacon proudly displayed on her students, bags of plushies and other prizes in their other hands.

 _To be continued..._


	6. Chapter 6

Jaune got up from his bed that Saturday morning with a slight mix of grin and grimace. He wasn't particularly looking forward to today's agenda, but it had to be done. Better to do this now than try and mooch off his friends later. That'd just be cruel on his part.

"Pyrrha, I'll be making a call at the CCT later on. Don't wait up for me for breakfast or lunch, and tell team RWBY I said hi." With that delivered, the blond gathered up his clothes for the day as his partner sat down to finish her own morning routine.

"Alright, Jaune. Should I have Blake hold off on training for tonight?"

"...for now, yes. I'll let you both know if I'm still up for it or not later." And then he entered the bathroom to shower. Even though Pyrrha's hair took up a good half hour or so by itself, Jaune could take just as long deciding what to say when he made that call home.

* * *

Jaune sat at the desk, looking at the monitor provided by the Cross-Continental Transmission Tower. While he was calling a home well inside Vale's borders, the privacy of the room would be better than his own dorm where Nora would interrupt him eventually.

Seeing just his reflection for a few seconds, Jaune took a deep breath before placing his scroll in the dock and hitting the call button. It was a good thing he only had to wait to be connected instead of typing in the number on the bigger screen like he had on his scroll. The dots jumped and bounced as he waited for someone to pick up. Hopefully one of the sisters who encouraged him to go...

"Hello, who i-Jaune! Hi! How are you? Man, it has been SO LONG since we talked, why haven't you called except for that once two months ago?" A female version of Jaune was sitting in a living room on a couch, so the call was answered on the TV. Interesting choice of dad's, but oh well.

"Hey Janine. Is Jasmine around?"

"No, she and the rest of the family are out at the local pool. I didn't feel like swimming today," meaning she actually got the short straw in today's draw of 'who stays home to watch the house', "but I do have some cool news for you! You know how dad could move stuff telepathically? Well, turns out, he doesn't! He has this weird green thing that picks stuff up for him! Only me and Jasmine can see it, but no one except him believes us, and then I got a wolfwoman and Jasmine got a lady that can punch things and fix them up right as rain, and dad's been teaching us how to keep control of them and woooow, when'd you get him?!"

Jaune figured summoning The... The... his Stand would stop the rapidfire words. "This is my Stand. Dad hasn't told you they're called Stands yet?" He had, but Janine thought it sounded silly since there wasn't a reason for it. "No, no, there is. They're manifestations of our fighting spirits, *standing* beside us. Mine can just punch things really hard. So, how is everyone? They all doing well?"

Jaune and Janine exchanged news on what had happened in the last few months, one being a bit more exciting than the other. "...and then Joleen predicted he'd walk into a pole. We just didn't tell him that the pole would be knee high and swingin'!" The shorter blonde finished, grinning at her brother from nearly a continent away.

The armored blond found it hard to believe that Kakyoin Arc would fall for that kind of prank the way Jaune had. Especially if, as his minutes-younger sister said, their youngest sister, a fortune teller wannabe, had masterminded the plan. No, that man was too aware of his surroundings, especially with that green Stand that he hadn't named around his closest sisters. Going along with it was his way of bonding with his daughters usually, given he was as awkward as their mom at some things. Both of them may not have been Hunters, but their jobs still brought in enough dough for a family of ten to live comfortably.

Still, Jaune managed a chuckle that didn't sound forced over the static that came from being broadcast. "Nice! Thanks for catching me up on all this, Janine. I'll try to keep you all posted on what I'm doing over the next few weeks. ...Jasmine still mad at me?"

"Mmhmm! Still thinks you shouldn't be out there. I and Jessica argue against her flying to Beacon and wrangling you back home every few days. Kinda gotten to the point where we just go 'Jasmine, no flying!' like she's that fox dude in that old cartoon about a little Vacuoan girl. Remember it?"

Jaune shook his head in genuine amusement this time. "Thanks for sticking up for me. Have, uh, have mom and dad changed their opinions any?" He figured those two would be the real longshot. Probably the same sort as when Pyrrha pegged him to a tree.

Janine looked away for a second. "...no, not really. They aren't quite so sure you'll make it through your second year, but they've dropped the counter of days you'd be back after first semester finished. It is so weird to think you're starting your second semester at Beacon while I'm on break."

Jaune hummed a bit. That was still a little discouraging to hear, but hey. He was here, and he'd be staying the whole four years. Grimm incursions pending. The two Stand-using Arcs talked for a little while longer.

* * *

Jaune ducked around a ribbon-scythe swing and hopped over a thrown shield before kicking off of a muscled golden-armored leg, swiping at Pyrrha with his sword and blocking Blake's cleaver with his shielth. He pressured the champion into a flurry of close quarters combat, where she normally thrived. However, given he could throw off her polarity usage with a single 'invisible' poke, Jaune found that he could fend off Milo's sword form easily. The javelin form took a bit more work to not get thrown around by, especially when Blake joined in.

Deflecting Gambol Shroud with a golden-armored fist, Jaune's Stand attacked the cat girl with a flurry of kicks. Jumping back off of a solid image, Blake took stock of the situation as the giant retreated back into Jaune while he slashed at Pyrrha. 'He's getting better really quickly. Is that his Stand's ability, his Semblance, or just Jaune? The Arc family not producing any Heroes in so long is a motivator, sure, but this sort of improvement in just a few months...' It was staggering, really. Especially if you contrasted the two Jaunes from then and now.

Overall, it was still him, but the manner in which he held himself was so different. He could probably take on the whole Vytal Festival Tournament by himself. That'd be a sight.

Shrugging off her musings, Blake returned to the fray after Pyrrha backed off to summon Akouo back to her vambrace. None of the three really noticed how widely they were smiling as the mock-battle went on.

* * *

Jaune chuckled a bit as Nora went to deal the last blow to the enemy team. "Well, I know I want to keep going in this Tournament. Ren, Pyrrha, thoughts?" His two teachers and friends would have balked at the thought of Jaune doing that at the start of the year. Now?

"I... would not mind continuing, but if Ren or Nora want to go further, I can stand back." Pyrrha felt at ease letting her partner go on. She truthfully did not want to continue on, but wouldn't say no if her teammates didn't want to participate.

"Nora is fine not continuing, she and I talked about it over dinner last night. I'll go on, though. I'm curious to see what our next opponents are first hand." Ren was quite eager to assimilate any tricks that would fit his style, but wouldn't say so. He also would've balked at Jaune wanting to continue not long ago, but this was a new day.

The blond nodded and brought his black haired friend forward a bit before before holding his hand up. The holo-screens around the stadium showed mugshots of the two to... mixed reception. The various Mistrali in the seats had wanted to see their Invincible Girl go all the way to one degree or another, while everyone not from Vacuo was cool seeing the two continue on, Valeans moreso than the others. The visitors from Vacuo either booed or clapped politely.

Jaune looked at his teammate. "I still think it would've been easy to remember how Flower Power goes."

"Jaune, can we talk about that when we're not on stage?"

"I'm just saying!"


	7. Chapter 7

Jaune stretched out a bit as he got ready for the first doubles match to start. Weiss and Yang were going against two of Atlas's team FNKI, and the blond leader couldn't help but wonder if Atlas came up with team names and gimmicks for them at the same time. Ah well.

Watching his friends get dismantled at the start, he turns to Ren. "Think you can adapt that skater girl's moves into your arsenal just from watching?"

The teen with a pink stripe of hair shakes his head. "Not as well as if I experienced them. And I'm not sure if I could even use them in the first place. She might have a similar weapon type, but that doesn't mean I could use her techniques." His explanation done, Ren looked back to the screen. Oh, it looked like Weiss and Yang managed to make a comeback, at the sacrifice of Weiss's clothes today. It was a good thing their combat attire was so durable, she might have shown quite a bit more than intended otherwise. As it was, that outfit would probably be scrapped and replaced after the match.

The shielth fighter nods a bit, and flexes an arm, trying out a last minute idea. He could feel his Stand empowering the limb, but it was... lacking. Like he'd be missing a good portion of the strength The... Stand could give just on its own. Maybe next combat class he'd have it fine-tuned.

As Yang was declared victor and sent on to the finals, Jaune and Ren exited the changing room. They gave the girls high fives as they passed, one more enthusiastic than the other on either side. Striding onto the stage, desert and city configuration being selected as the four students got to position, the boys drew their weapons as their older opponents from Haven did the same, a simple rapier and a mecha-shifting bastard sword. The male-female duo flourished their weapons appropriately, the silver-haired young man spinning his thinner blade a few times while the young woman with black and fuchsia hair done up in two odd buns set her weapon on a shoulder with a cocky grin.

Ren took a stance with his legs wide and arms set so the blades of Storm Flower faced away from him, one pointing towards Jaune but never threatening his team leader. Jaune just brought his shielth up in front of him, his sword hanging loosely down by his leg, looking over the stances their counterparts took up. Oobleck and Port introduced them as Pierre Polnef and Irene Joystar. To the members of team JNPR, neither name meant anything besides designating targets.

Irene charged first, not the fastest to either since they were either naturally faster or had experienced being on the opposite end of faster opponents. Running through sand towards their pavement didn't help. Jaune walked forward, and swung his shielth to parry the swinging bastard sword with practiced ease of movement. The stinging that went through his arm was expected while Irene spun with the momentum, bringing a low swing at his legs. Jaune hopped over the attack before swinging his own sword from low to Irene's chest. Thanks to her aura, Irene stumbled back with only a bruise under the web-designed shirt. The lack of anchorage meant he hadn't been able to put much weight into that either.

Pierre's sudden assault was a bit harder to deal with, especially when he summoned... the hell?! That Stand looked like a knight of old, with a bit more spikes than should be normal! Jaune redirected the young man's rapier with his shielth and surprised him by using his sword to parry seemingly nothing but air. While most of the audience and commentators wondered what he was doing swinging at nothing, Pierre jumped back, looking at the blond incredulously. "You can see Silver Chariot? But, no one at Beacon was supposed to have a Stand this year! You..." Gritting his teeth to keep from spilling more info, the silver-haired boy sped forward. Jaune couldn't tell if his speed was natural, aura augmented or Stand augmented.

Glancing to his side before re-engaging, Jaune saw Ren was not having the best of luck against Irene... and her Stand, which had taken her sword and using a different form. Pyrrha wasn't the only Mistrali with a sword that turned into a polearm it looked, though the Haven student went with a trident while using a net... made out of webbing? Weird. Still, Ren was managing to hold his own in a mix of movement between sand and pavement right now and Jaune wasn't fast or skilled enough to fight a running battle just yet. Thankful for his Stand's eyes adding a second level of vision, the Arc began parrying the two rapiers. He didn't have much room to maneuver while keeping his own Stand hidden.

"Is this all you can do? Come on, at least use your Semblance! Otherwise you'll never defeat the fastest Stand in the world!" And like those words were magic, Silver Chariot sped up. To the still silent Jaune, it started to have an afterimage following every move. This was very different from Blake's, which were just one copy that existed for a short time. Pierre himself kept up his usual speed, or what Jaune thought was that. Fighting such an agile opponent was not something he'd trained for, but the constant defensive effort was a lot easier on the blond than staying on the offensive for so long was for Pierre. The silver-haired young man was more used to his opponents going down quickly, it seemed, since he started huffing a bit every few moves but didn't slow down. Yet.

The mix of physical exertion and commanding a Stand takes a toll on anyone, but having to keep your attention on swinging four arms at once, and doing so elegantly, seemed to make the silver-haired swordsman use up more energy than Jaune keeping one arm close and angled while swiftly swinging the other. The blond was starting to lose feeling in his arms again, so he fixed that by flowing some aura throughout his body. The slight white glow would also distract Irene whenever Jaune got a chance to do it, only twice now in this match, giving Ren a breather. He was less used to drawn-out bouts than anyone currently in the ring, even after sparring with his team leader for progressively longer periods.

Having gotten a feel for Pierre's rhythm, Jaune decided now was a good time to break it. Parrying Silver Chariot's rapier again, the blond ducked and snapped out his leg in a sweep kick. The Haven student hopped over his leg, then received a shielth edge to the gut. Falling to the ground without any air in his lungs, his Stand returning to his mind's cage, Pierre Polnef found the edge of a sword held to his neck after landing painfully. "I yield! I yield!" The sound of a buzzer acknowledged the forfeiture. Along with another one signaling someone else's defeat.

Jaune looked to his friend, and saw Ren down for the count. He was bleeding from a few cuts, many more littered his outfit, but looked more like he had collapsed from exhaustion than anything from Irene. Giving his sword a spin, the blond looked at the bun-haired woman who still looked quite cocky, if panting heavily and sweating a bit. The martial artist had given better than he'd got, but he couldn't last very long in combat just yet. Jaune figured he'd try and fix that when they were done recuperating from the Tournament.

Walking toward Irene, Jaune saw that her Stand was a blue with a dash of black humanoid type. The two closed in on each other slowly. Irene's Stand passed her mecha-shifting trident back to her, where she promptly turned it back into a bastard sword. Given Jaune had only heard Ren's bullets throughout the match, he wouldn't have to deal with any shenanigans in that regard. Still, seeing that sunglasses-wearing Stand floating along behind Irene was a little intimidating. Still, the blond didn't summon his Stand, it would be a waste at this point. And he did want to keep it hidden for the last match.

The two sword wielders stood a few meters away from each other now, sizing the other up. Jaune had gotten a few cuts and holes in his clothes, along with some along his limbs that weren't visible any more thanks to his aura healing them, while Irene was still bleeding a bit from the various cuts Ren had gotten on her. No bullets had managed to pierce her it seemed, so the Arc spun his sword in his hand before taking a pose that let him be ready for a sprinting attack. Having tested it out with all of his friends and teachers, he knew the best time to stop running. However, he wanted to test something this time. If it didn't work, he'd just return to his normal attacks for the remainder of the match.

Irene sped forward first, both hands on her bastard sword as she readied for a horizontal slash at his side. Jaune took a few steps forward before swinging his sword at the suddenly swung net of black strings. This was an odd Stand, he'd-oh crap, there went his sword. And it landed in the sand, great. Note to self, don't try and get caught up in those strings. He skipped back to avoid blocking the bastard sword swing before watching as Irene reached into a pocket and grinned.

The black-fuchsia haired woman pulled out a steel ball, which was then wrapped in a single black string. "How many times do you think I can hit you with this?"

Jaune felt it prudent to not stand still and find out, so began to run away. "Hey! Get back here!" Four shoes hitting pavement echoed a bit as the blond ran through the miniature city. It wasn't quite in ruins, but... there! Taking a few more steps, he then ducked and slid feet first through a broken door. That wasn't what he was counting on to surprise Irene.

After the young woman pulled the door open with her Stand's black strings, she cautiously walked in. There wasn't much visibly going on, to her. The audience all saw that Jaune was waiting with his feet somehow kicked into the ceiling, his shrunken shielth in his left hand as his right gripped a hanging light. To most of the viewers, Irene was standing one second and the next she crumpled. The buzzer signaled the end of the match, Jaune the victor and moving on to the finals.

To everyone able to see Stands, which to Blake's knowledge was only her but could've been upwards of half of the audience for all she could tell, they saw a golden flash knock into Irene's head before it disappeared. Only because she knew what that flash actually looked like was Blake able to understand what had attacked the Mistrali. Anyone else would likely think Jaune's Stand was just a yellow bar or something. Having encountered only two before joining Beacon, the cat Faunus was sure that there were bound to be Stands no one could accurately tell what they looked like. Not even their own users. For now, she just turned to make a positive comment to Pyrrha before raising an amused eyebrow.

"Pyrrha, clean up your drool."

The champion quickly felt her face, because that had definitely happened while watching Jaune train before, and gave Blake a short mock-glare for that before looking back to her partner as he retrieved his sword. "He's come a long way."

Ruby nearby nodded, curious how he got Irene to just fall like she'd been hit by something. "Yeah. I wonder how he unlocked his Semblance?"

Green and amber eyes met with a bit of smirking before the three girls got up to go see to their teammates, Nora having left as soon as the medics picked up Ren.


	8. Chapter 8

Jaune stretched out his arms. The doubles had gone on long enough that the start of the finals had been put off for a few hours, so it was now night time. He had Crocea Mors hanging from his hip again, and wondered what the first match up would be. He exited the locker room with the rest of the Eastern bloc fighters. There were four people from each bracket, eight in total. Stepping into Amity's arena, Jaune looked around at who was fighting. A few young men he didn't know and probably wouldn't remember the names of if he watched their matches, that Mercury dude who fought Pyrrha, Yang, Sun, Ruby's weird friend Penny, and himself. The blond felt accomplished that he was among the lucky few to have made it here.

Well, not just lucky. They'd each earned quite a few bruises and some small scars coming here. Jaune had managed to get to this match with no scars but he still felt a bit like a walking bruise. Standing in a circle, the eight hunters-in-training all looked up to see who would be the first pair to fight. The holoscreens finished cycling and settled on Yang and Mercury's mugshots. Wishing his friend luck, Jaune left with Sun and one of the unknown young men to his locker room. The force field around the arena was so projectiles of any sort didn't hit the stands where civilians were sitting, anyone that stayed next to it would've been in the crossfire, especially since these singles wouldn't have any biomes to use as either vantage point or shield.

Jaune and Sun exchanged no words with their fellow Eastern bloc fighter, pleasantries... including names, actually... having been exchanged earlier. Now the blond without a tail felt a little bad about not remembering the man's name when they'd all introduced themselves. Still, they wouldn't see each other again after the Vytal Festival most likely, and who knows what they'd look like or be like the next time they met, if ever.

Also, the tall tanned fighter was just quiet on his own. So that helped his conscious some. Neither of the blonds in the room exchanged words as well, watching their blonde friend. Jaune analyzed the moves used by the two, arms crossed and frowning a bit. Whoever was doing the camera work for this was good at dramatic angles, but he'd rather just see everything they were doing from one static angle if possible.

Sun was doing the same, but adding in some quiet cheers and jeers as he watched, shadowboxing with some of Yang's simpler moves. He was having a bit more fun with this.

And then everything came to a halt as Yang was declared the winner, took one step toward their locker room, and then turned and punchshot out Mercury's leg.

No one quite knew what to do, and then she started acting as if the now cripple had done something. Everyone watched as she was surrounded by armed guards. Then the cameras cut to Oobleck and Port, who apologized for the early ending of the singles matches tonight, but they'd resume again shortly. No definite time was given, but Jaune and Sun weren't watching the monitor any more. They were watching Yang being led out of Amity by the guards through their locker room. While the unnamed man sneered a bit at the blonde, the blonds were trying to be reassuring.

* * *

"Those two are who I want you to cripple. If you get the chance to kill them, I don't mind if you take it."

"Hmph. Adam wouldn't mind them dying, even put a hit on Blondie. I'll enjoy the extra perks that come from killing him."

Grass crunched as two figures moved away from each other, one set of feet much louder than the other. A glass anklet clinking was unheard under a chainsaw starting up.

A little away from that spot, two heads turned a bit. "...Ren, why is there a chainsaw starting up?"

"I don't know, Jaune. We should... probably get ready for a fight." The black haired young man got into a relaxed standing pose, from which he'd be able to go into a speedy motion in any direction. His leader keeps his shielth up and ready, sword hanging down at his side.

A few minutes later, they were treated to the sight of the chainsawsword's owner appearing. His face was hidden behind a large mask, but the shaved head and outfit let them know who it was just as well as the weapon. This was the White Fang member who'd attacked and nearly killed Weiss a few weeks ago.

Looking to each other, Jaune started to slowly put some distance between him and Ren while the green clad student brought out his Storm Flower. "Well, neither of you are Schnees, but another couple humans dead is never a bad thing." The chainsawsword still looked quite menacing with the low growl of its constant movement.

Jaune summoned his Stand, wanting a way to keep the "Oh? And you have a Stand too? Well, this might be fun after all!" The blond stopped and looked at the White Fang member in surprise. No...

The man grinned behind his mask and summoned his own Stand. It was definitely the most monstrous thing either student had ever seen, and they'd gone after the creatures of Grimm. The only reason the two weren't scared stiff was because they could feel that being so would mean their deaths. Instead, they kept their forms loose and ready to move at a moment's notice.

It was a good thing too, because Ren found himself the target of the man with a chainsawsword... while Jaune had to fend off the Stand that flew at him. The Arc moved quickly, his giant moving to defend him as he unconsciously said "muda". Jaune backpedaled, dodging a tail with a blade for the end and having his Stand move around the enemy Stand, having it punch, "muda", and kick, "muda", at the thing every second "muda!"

Ren might not have been able to dodge the giant swings or deflect them as Weiss had, but he was still skilled enough to make the dodges only grazes on his clothes. For now anyway, even his aura wouldn't be able to keep the bruises from forming later. And that's if he stayed alive. Storm Flower's blades weren't meant to parry chainsaw teeth, but cleaving through the White Fang member's vest was... going to be harder than planned. Besides not hitting the chainsawsword, there was the slight problem of the vest apparently being tougher than Grimm hide, something not very hard with a combination of good materials and aura. The bare arms were less pristine, though. Ren hopped back and fired a short burst of bullets. The White Fang member took A step back at being hit, before charging at Ren again.

A thought hit the martial artist as he began dodging and counterattacking again. Going for another swipe, Ren fired a burst into the bare shoulder point blank. The White Fang member let out a pained growl as his shoulder was hit by a lot of very fast, very powerful projectiles when he'd expected Ren to just swipe again. And being it was his right hand that suddenly became a lot more painful to use, keeping the teeth on the chainsawsword going was a sporadic thing at best now. The Dust battery needed to have another rev every few seconds or it'd stop, making it just a very sharp implement of death instead of a vibrating one.

Jaune was having better luck than his teammate, but was confused. He'd made limp ten limbs already, but they hadn't transferred over to the Stand's user. Or the man was good at dealing with it. However, he'd found that his Stand had a weird ability. It had suddenly pulled out some kind of hard light, a golden framework version of Yatsuhashi's giant sword.

His Stand making that had turned this into a much smoother fight. While skill was not at all in the movements, the framework sword was still very sharp and cut through the many limbs and leathery skin easily. Jaune wasn't sure what would happen if he... Ren looked like he was holding his own fine, but for how much longer?

The White Fang member swung his chainsawsword quickly at his opponent. Ren ducked under it, losing a few strands of pink hair. He hadn't been able to replicate the burst of bullets on either shoulder, since the relatively unharmed other arm was still quite fast with the weapon. Going for a second swing, the man seized up. He spasmed for a second before falling forward. His grip on the chainsawsword made it start to rotate again as he lay on the ground, unmoving but breathing and sometimes jerking here or there. "Jaune, what did you do?"

The Arc scratched his neck. His Stand had put away the framework sword after dealing the final blow. "...I think I, uh, killed his brain? I just tore his Stand in half and... that happened." The enemy Stand had disappeared the instant his sword had gone all the way through. It was weird, and Jaune was pretty sure he wouldn't be doing the same thing again if he could help it.

"I see... Well, what do we do now? If we tell Ozpin, he might hold us until the police get here."

"Or, he could let us go on our way. After all, our Semblances aren't able to make vegetables of," Jaune slowly moves the chainsawsword away from the twitching man where it petered out, "people, are they? And we were attacked by a terrorist. The police would probably just pat us on the back."

Ren hadn't thought of it that way. He might be able to do something like this given sufficient years of experience, but his oxygen-based Semblance was only able to interact with his own body right now. "Okay. ...you seem remarkably calm about this." Then again, so did he.

Jaune walked to his friend and pat his shoulder. "Just wait till we get back to our dorm. It should hit me there."


	9. Chapter 9

Jaune grunted a bit as he finished blowing his nose, tossing the nth bit of toilet paper into the toilet. "Yes Pyrrha, I'm going to be alright. If I need to, I will happily take you up on calling your therapist friend. As it is, I don't need to right now. Just some sleep, then some food, followed by trying not to get my butt kicked if I'm next up tonight." He gave his partner an amused look, long used to the concern the champion showed him. It could sometimes go from amusing to irritating, but only three questions in thirty minutes wasn't there by a longshot.

"...alright. I don't have anything planned today, so I'll be getting some lunch before returning. Team RWBY is under house-arrest while Ren and Nora are out doing their own thing. Just let me know when you wake up, and we'll grab dinner together." The blond gave a thumbs-up while hovering over the porcelain bowl, coughing a bit as some more bile worked itself up. And he thought motion sickness had some horrible side effects. At least he could breath without pain after that!

* * *

Jaune lay on his bed, looking at the new item oddly. He hadn't thought rubbing those yellow lines would do this. Pushing the hilt back into a one-handed configuration and twisting, he watched as Crocea Mors returned to the normal form of a sword in a shielth. This would warrant testing tomorrow. He definitely wouldn't be trying it out in the arena tonight, that would just lead to some humiliation when it came to light he could use a broadsword even worse than a normal arming sword.

Setting the heirloom down, Jaune looked at the ceiling as he thought about what this could bring about. So that was another trump card in his deck... how much training would it take to use that effectively? Oh well. Turning his head and summoning The... Stand, he smirked a bit. Jaune figured most of the opponents he'd face in these singles matches would be able to tolerate the attacks from his invisible giant far more readily than Cardin or even Pyrrha. So maybe letting loose a little more would be fine. Except on Sun. He did like his friends not being pulverized into giant walking bruises.

His door being knocked on once before it was unlocked, Pyrrha's special form of courtesy to her team, heralded his putting away the Stand while raising his head a bit. The redhead entered a little distractedly, munching on a roll while reading something on her scroll. "Hey Pyr. What's up?"

Jaune waited and watched as his partner moved to her bed next to his. He could see the scroll's screen backwards, and it was a news article of some sort he thought. But reading such small text backwards would've made his head hurt if he tried to do so normally, so the blond waited on an answer. "...apparently, some news outlets think I'm dating one of four people: A scraggly blond with a sword and shield who must be just as loaded because why else would I bother with someone so plain looking, a black haired young man who was arranged because I'm Mistrali and he looks it, a young girl with a red hood, or a girl wearing black on black and white."

"...wow. Some people have way too much time on their hands." That got a short laugh from her, so Jaune figured he'd done his good deed for the day. "Well, anything special about us in there, Pyrrha?"

* * *

Stretching out his arms, Jaune walked back to his locker room. Sun and the Atlesian student in funky armor were going at it, so he would be alone for a few minutes. There weren't any cameras in the locker rooms, so the blond human felt alright with using the time where Sun would beat up the other guy to practice transforming Crocea Mors and back. The sword's transition time would be constant, so instead of trying to train that down, he'd work on fixing his form when going from sword and board to broadsword.

Jaune looked at the screen every few minutes, because apparently the fight was going on a lot longer than he or Sun had anticipated. The foolish thoughts of a second year going against a fourth. At least Ruyi Jingu Bang was able to stand up against that... that... how would you describe that weapon? Like nothing he'd ever seen before...

Jaune thrust powerfully one last time when the buzzer went off. He looked up and saw that Sun had won, but it was a very hard win given the bruises and burned slashes on him. The Arc turned Crocea Mors back to normal and reattached it to his hip before turning to enter the arena again. The Atlesian student stumbled out passed him, holding a broken arm and bruised pride. Sun followed, giving Jaune a forearm bump and grin as they passed each other. The blond human heard the blond Faunus curse quietly after a few seconds.

The holo-screens started to rotate again, the four students taking their positions again. Jaune looked at the remaining contestants, and wondered which of them would be his opponent. "Next up is Jaune Arc of Beacon, versus... Penny Polendina of Atlas!" And that settled that.


	10. Chapter 10

Waiting for their opponents to exit, the two first year students moved to their positions. Jaune gave his sword a little twirl as he separated Crocea Mors, expanding the shielth. He glanced over the orange-haired girl's shoulder and smiled a bit. Ren had procured a small 'Go Jaune!' flag from somewhere, Nora had her arms up with yellow pom-poms though she wasn't dancing and Pyrrha was on her feet, standing at the physical barrier and grinning widely at him, green eyes sparkling far more than teeth ever could. Yeah, that was pretty encouraging. He didn't know where team RWBY was, but was sure that three out of four would be cheering for Penny, while the last one would be quiet(ly cheering for Penny).

"Sal-u-tations! I hope we have a good match!"

"Me too. Don't hold a grudge after I beat you."

That got a competitive grin from a freckled face before Penny summoned her eight swords to float behind her. The two barely paid attention to the sound of Peter Port giving the starting signal. Jaune charged at the girl, bringing The... Stand out of his mind as his opponent stayed in place. Her attacks might have been effective while moving, but they were better when she was rooted to the ground. Jaune aimed to make it hard for Penny to stay in one place. The rapid, very strong impacts on his kite shield nearly bowled the blond over but he managed to regain his footing and resolved to not let those impact fully next time.

Penny used two of her swords to pull backwards, increasing the distance between them as Jaune swung his sword through the space she'd previously occupied. It was a good thing he had a second pair of legs to keep from falling after that overextension. Seeing the eight swords coming in from his right side this time, Jaune narrowed his eyes. There was a faint glint at the ends of them... he couldn't make them out rightly. Still, he had a second pair of eyes and arms for this sort of thing.

Moving the full two meters away from him, Jaune's Stand made out what normal human eyes could not. Grabbing the eight wires in one hand, the giant pulled, Penny letting out a squeak as she stumbled forward. The subsequent clang that rang out as kite shield punched arm sounded louder than it should've to the Arc. But this was a fight, not an exhibition. He could ask what was going on later. His Stand gave another pull.

Penny's fist impacting on his shield, not something to repeat either. And that was definitely not the sound a bare fist should make when hitting a shield, no matter how strong your aura was. Or maybe her Semblance allowed it? Either way, Penny regained control of her swords from Jaune's Stand and switched them to a longer ranged form. Knowing a gun form when he saw one after spending so long at Beacon, Jaune collapsed his shielth to make dodging easier. The green lasers that shot out, four at him and four at seemingly nothing, made him recall his Stand. She could see it?

At least keeping the weak beams away was easier than it would've been had Penny decided to end the match there. It would've been child's play to use that giant beam from the docks, but that would've punctured more than one shield most likely. Small mercies.

Jaune entered close range and found out something interesting. It seemed Penny was unable to use the two different forms at once. All sword or all laser pointer, good to know. Still, being so close made being hit easier for both parties. Jaune might have been able to dodge or deflect the swords if Penny just went with normal swings and stabs. But no, she had to get fancy. The spinning shield turned the pointy ends towards him, a buzzsaw went around her, and then the swords went to launch her back again.

 _'Nope!'_ Jaune jumped forward, wrapping his arms around Penny's stomach as she was catapulted backwards. The orange-haired girl squeaked again, not expecting that. The move left them rolling a bit, and Jaune found himself stuck face to chest by the eight actually very thin and probably very sharp wires. At least none were wrapped around his neck. Looking up at Penny, the Arc found himself a little curious why she seemed to be trying to blush but failing. Most people would just blush in this scenario. Still, Jaune had a way out.

The wires snapped suddenly before the blond got on one knee, and puts his sword's point at her neck. "Yield?"

Penny went a little crosseyed looking at the tip. It wasn't touching, but that could change easily. "...I yield."

Jaune nodded and moved his sword back into the shielth, standing up and holding out a hand to his defeated opponent. Penny smiled as she lifted herself up with his arm, nearly sending him down. How much did she weigh?!

He watched the bits of wire still connected disappear into Penny's back while shaking hands with her, looking her in the eye. "Good fight."

Penny grinned. "Thank you! I enjoy-enjo-jo-enjo-" The backpack opened again, eight swords popping back out as Penny's eyes turned red. And then she tried to crush his hand. Losing your own hand to an invisible chop would make turning bones into dust a little hard.

Jaune staggered back a bit, looking at the circuitry confusedly before rolling away. The eight stabs into the floor told him it was a good idea. Jaune drew his arming sword back out, expanding the kite shielth while watching Penny warily, his Stand floating silently.

* * *

Pyrrha sprang into action as soon as she saw Penny take her swords back out. Ren and Nora's rocket lockers with their weapons were only seconds behind hers. NPR ran to join up with their leader after collecting their equipment, though Pyrrha hesitated long enough to read a message. Gritting her teeth, she looked between Ren and Nora and Jaune, and the exit to the skyport, still filling up with civilians and other Huntsmen. The White Fang agents scattered around had been taken out quickly, but they served their purpose along with that ominous speech.

...

Decision made, she started to run again.

* * *

Jaune parried another sword, blocking a laser with his shielth before having his Stand punch a fifth incoming blade away. They might have broken easily, but Penny replaced her weapons just as quickly as he could break them. In this battle of attrition, it wouldn't be him winning.

A whistling sound caught his attention a second before a grenade impacted Penny's side, the one-handed android stumbling to a side in surprise and some pink smoke before Jaune was reinforced. "Hey, Jauney! Looks like you need some help!"

"Thanks, guys!" Two bursts of sidearm fire and a few rifle shots rang out as Penny growled a bit, face twisting into an ugly expression as she formed a quickly spinning shield of three swords. It quickly turned into something far more dangerous. Jaune grit his teeth and had his Stand summon two framework versions of his kite shielth, the golden constructs managing to block the giant green beam far more effectively than Jaune had anticipated.

The green beam suddenly went upwards, breaking through the shields around the arena just as a giant Nevermore pecked through. The Grimm's head went into a puff of smoke, killing it quite a bit quicker than a capital ship could've hoped to. Pyrrha ran into the fray with her partner, pink explosions and green bullets zipping passed them to rock Penny and impact on her swords. Ren's shots wouldn't make any of them break without concentrated effort on his own, but it certainly made breaking the weapons easier on Nora, Jaune and Pyrrha.

Penny roared out as she switched back to the blade configuration with all eight swords, slicing down at the champion and her partner. Against a polarity Semblance, they were useless. Pyrrha didn't throw Penny around, quite literally as she had the ability to do so, because working her power like that was both wasteful and she was fighting with Jaune at her side. A Jaune that was employing his invisible giant's attacks, given Penny was being rocked by more than their slashing attacks.

Nora and Ren looked at each other, feeling a little useless while their teammates were so close to the target. They silently agreed it was a good thing team RWBY wasn't here, Ruby would not have been able to fight her friend and constantly trying to reason with her likely wouldn't have worked. ...or it might have. Maybe resorting to violence first hadn't been the best of ideas, but considering the circumstances...

Jaune grimaced a bit at the sudden oil jet that hit his pants after Pyrrha pulled Milo out of Penny's chest. "...come on. Let's go see what the city's like."


	11. Chapter 11

Running to Amity's skyport, team JNPR was quiet except for their pounding feet. They all had their weapons in hand still, not wanting to run afoul of anyone and be unprepared. Halfway to their destination, everything shook. "What the?! We're not on the ground, so how... shit!" Seeing the sky slowly start to move outside a far off window, the four teenagers started to really book it. They did not want to be here when the giant Amity Coliseum, a monument to the hard work of four nations over years and a longstanding symbol of unity, crashed to the ground. Thankfully, whatever kept it floating meant that the fall would be slow and partially controlled. If someone had enough explosions to take out everything at once, they'd squandered that chance. Pyrrha knew that much, but felt now would not be the best time to say that over half of the Dust keeping Amity in the sky was gone. Maybe later, if they didn't see for themselves.

Finally arriving at the desolate skyport, JNPR saw that there were a few ships left, somehow. Jaune had expected each and every one to have been used. There was more enough space for all of them to fit while they had their equipment on, but Pyrrha seemed a little distracted. As the structure was rocked by another rumble, two of them ran into a ship and two hesitated.

"Pyrrha, what're you doing, come on! We need to get off this rock before we're turned into paste!" Jaune took a step towards his partner, saw her look at him for a moment... and then she bolted for a different ship. "Pyr-Ren, Nora, get back to the ground! Help out anyone you can! Pyrrha!"

Nora tried to call for them to come back, but an explosion from the corridor they'd come from knocked the hammer wielder and her partner down. Ren's foot hit a button and the doors started to close. The martial artist resigned himself to not knowing what was going on until they landed and made for the cockpit. Nora slumped between the seats, Magnhild laying on the floor next to her as she looked at the sealed doors of the small ship, an airtaxi really. "Ren...?"

* * *

"Pyrrha! What are you doING?!" Jaune stumbled as an explosion rocked the skyport, and watched Pyrrha hop into a second airtaxi. Placing Milo and Akouo on the seat, the champion turned to enter the cockpit. Her teammates would be on their way to help everyone else, and she would go see if there was time to have Ozpin transwhat was that sound?

Turning, Pyrrha gasped a bit. "Jaune, what're you doing here? You were supposed t-wah!" Another explosion rocked Amity. Jaune hit the button to close the airtaxi doors. "Scold you later, fly now!" Not quite processing the first bit yet, the Mistrali went to hit some buttons in the cockpit.

With about ten seconds between them, two of the last airtaxis separated from Amity's skyport. They both went straight, because there was more than enough room to warrant just a dash out of the way of the coliseum's descent. Turning towards Beacon, JNPR couldn't see what was going on in detail just yet, what with it being late at night and most of the city lights were off for some reason. But they could tell that everything was going to _shit_. Grimm were nearly overrunning everyone, Atlesian robots and airships were burning and fighting Hunters, and who knew how many people were dead down there. Nora squeezed her eyes shut and held onto Ren who hoped that there was still enough fighting going on for them both to lose sight of the bigger picture for a bit. He brought a hand up in a familiar motion, stroking Nora's orange hair and calming the Valkyrie down a bit.

Pyrrha grit her teeth, wondering if she could have stopped this from happening if she had just decided earlier. Jaune was wondering how they'd fix all this, and was glad none of his family were near Beacon right now. Only two of them were trained Huntresses, and his parents wouldn't be able to protect their family and any civilians effectively. Thankfully, their home was situated quite far from anyone or anything that could really threaten them.

Bringing his attention back to the present, Jaune rolled his shoulders. "So, what were you going to do, Pyrrha?"

The redhead looked down a little in shame. "I was going to Ozpin's tower. He has... something in the basement that I should've done a while ago. I've already had a few days to think about it, and put it off for too long."

"Is this related to what you talked to me about and then ran because of?"

"Yes."

"...take us there. He might have set up shop there, and I can't get any service on my scroll." The airtaxi turned towards Beacon's singular tower. It was a near mirror of the CCT Tower, having only two places to go, the first floor and the top floor where the headmaster's office was. At least, that was what the school's general populace knew.

Pyrrha lands the airtaxi roughly, the jolt of the hover jets cutting out upsetting Jaune's stomach enough that he almost ran for the grass but he forced it back down. He'd deal with the burning later, there were more important things to do right now. The two walked towards the tower and Pyrrha hit a combination of keys. The doors closed and they went down instead of up. Jaune looked at her curiously before turning back to the doors. She wasn't saying anything yet, and he figured it'd be easier to just see what was going on instead of asking for an explanation that'd only be half complete.

* * *

The closed doors started to burn as a red-orange flame started to cut through them.

* * *

As the elevator doors opened, Jaune saw a long corridor that seemed a little too tall, lit by evenly spaced green dust lanterns. He walked out on Pyrrha's left, curious what they'd find.

About ten minutes later, ten minutes of walking with the only noise being their shoes and heels hitting the floor, Jaune and Pyrrha came upon their headmaster. He was standing in front of a console, between two metal pods, one open and the other occupied by a brown-skinned girl. "...headmaster Ozpin, what's going on here?"

"In a moment. Right now, there's just one question I have for you, Ms. Nikos. Are you sure?" Pyrrha looked at the girl in the closed pod, back to Ozpin and nodded. She looked scared and quite a bit unsure, but the old Huntsman waved a hand towards the metal pod. The champion started to move, but looked to the hand on her shoulder and then at Jaune.

He smiled at her and squeezed her shoulder. Pyrrha smiled back and stood a bit more confidently at this. Ozpin himself smiled minutely at the sight. She gently moved his hand off and walked into the pod. As it closed, Ozpin looked to the blond. "I'll need you to stand guard, Mr. Arc. When the procedure is done, you'll learn everything." Without waiting for an answer, the headmaster turned back to the console and started inputting some commands. The rasping of steel on steel and popping of a kite shield expanding told him that the blond would do as told for now.

Before he hit the final key, Ozpin looked to Pyrrha. "...you're sure?"

She looked back, and nodded one final time. Pyrrha knew what was going on, and had her partner's confidence in her to go through this. She wouldn't let him down, if no one else.

Jaune kept an eye on the long corridor. Given how much green light there was in the place, he felt that it should've been easier to see what was going on. At the sound of something whirring to life, along with a small whimper of pain from an unfamiliar voice, he looked over his shoulder at the unknown brunette. A muted whistling reached his ears right before a dark grey arrow pierced the glass and the girl's neck. She managed one last gasp before the arrow disintegrated. Ozpin gasped himself. "No!"

Pyrrha looked confused at the happenings before going wide eyed and starting to knock on the pod. Jaune turned to see that some smoke reminiscent of autumnal leaves flew from the machine and girl into...

Cinder drew in a deep breath as the full power of the Fall Maiden entered her. She let out a small moan at how content she felt, now that the hole was filled. She'd been longing for this for far too long. Opening her eyes, all present and living saw that some sort of power was flowing out of her eyes... and hands... given the woman was now floating under her own power. It was certainly nothing Jaune had ever seen before.

Summoning his Stand, he looked to Pyrrha and extended his hand as she pounded on the pod door. His Stand mirrored the action and a golden outline came over the door before it was ripped messily off its hinges and then thrown at the woman. Cinder waved a hand without care and the door slammed into a wall loudly. "Two polarity Semblances on the same team? Now there's a surprise. Just a shame you only just unlocked it."

Ozpin stepped in front of Jaune, taking hold of the hilt of his cane as if he were holding a sword. "Mr. Arc, Ms. Nikos. Get out of here. I'll hold her off." Cinder grinned at the headmaster. The students hesitated for a moment before running passed the two. They had been running for a solid minute before the sounds of combat started reaching them.

As the elevator doors closed, Jaune and Pyrrha looked back down the corridor. For the last six minutes, Ozpin had been fighting the new Fall Maiden. They hoped he could come out on top.

* * *

Walking out of the elevator's missing doors on the ground floor, Jaune looked up at the sky. The night was still going, even though it had seemed like hours since this whole thing blew up. At least there... There was a giant dragon Grimm flying around. Oh boy.

He looked to Pyrrha and was about to ask her something when they both jolted a bit. Looking back at the tower, they saw the elevator was ruined by the woman who had flown through it and on up. Not even half a minute later, Ozpin's office exploded. Gears of all sizes flew down to Remnant.

Looking to each other, the partners didn't need to vocalize their questions. If this had been a different world, a different time, Pyrrha might have called down a rocket locker to save Jaune with. Jaune might have done the same to Pyrrha in another world. The one left would find a way up the tower to fight. They didn't know what might happen if they fought her by themselves.

But this wasn't any of those worlds. As one, they ran into the ruined elevator. Pyrrha took hold of the steel with her Semblance, outlining it in black before Jaune took hold of her waist. She forced her arms up, launching them up to the office. It took a few repetitions to get up there, but they made good time. Four minutes after the office exploded, Jaune and Pyrrha exited the elevator to see Cinder just floating there, looking out over Vale. The black haired woman turned her burning eyes onto the two teens, both of whom drawing their weapons and readying themselves for the fight.

"Hmph. I do need to practice a bit more. You two will be excellent dummies for it." With that, she floated a couple feet off the ground, held aloft by a small flame before rocketing at them.


	12. Chapter 12

Jaune and Pyrrha separated as the Fall Maiden went between them. Coming back up, he gave her a look and she nodded. The two charged and tried to bash Cinder between their shields. She brought up a wall of fire that made the two back off quickly. The black-haired woman thrust her arms out, launching beams of fire at the two students. Pyrrha took it on Akouo, using her Semblance to launch herself forward before the fire got the steel too hot.

Jaune found himself curious as to why his old kite shield didn't feel like it was heating up before the beam suddenly stopped. Looking up, he saw that Pyrrha had closed in, and the woman in the red dress was using flames as both beams and claws for the second of activity afforded. He saw her grimace in annoyance as he joined the fray. Jaune and Pyrrha were a well-oiled machine in combat, her versatility in the open space accented by his rigid stance and sudden attacks, both with blade and invisible punches.

Those were what really got the woman annoyed. His Semblance had been polarity down in the Maiden's holding area, so what was attacking her?! Spinning, Cinder used more fire in a tower formation to knock them away. Glaring, the Fall Maiden summoned her old weapons, stopping the floating to go for what she was far more experienced in using. Breaking the bow into two blades, golden eyes still overflowing with power, she looked at them with hate. How dare they, how _dare_ they force her to resort to less fantastic measures?! Unfortunately for them, she was adept at taking on two opponents at once.

The three were still for a few beats before a screech was heard. Looking to his right and her left, Jaune and Pyrrha saw the dragon Grimm coming straight for them. It was still dripping new Grimm for everyone on the ground to deal with. With a quick calculation, Jaune figured it would be on them in a few seconds. Glancing at the woman, and her weapon, an idea came to mind.

He might not be able to use the woman's own weapon against her right now, but he did have one very powerful weapon in mind that could distract the dragon. Pyrrha and Cinder watched in surprise as a golden framework version of a familiar gun-scythe planted itself into the floor.

With a louder by proximity screech, the dragon Grimm focused on the two shining things that weren't the flaming presence. The flaming one was between the shining ones, but it had dealt with worse situations before. It did not remember the last time pain had happened though, having slept so long. The dragon focused on the brightest one, from which came another sensation of pain. The flaming one moved to attack the brightest one. It did nothing to help, as the dragon roared in pain before turning away from the three atop the high ground.

Cinder snarled in rage. How, how, how, how, how, how, HOW?! This didn't make any sense! She tried to break through the Arc's defense, but his shield and sword were always blocking her swords. And they even damaged her weapons, making her even ang-she stomped her foot, making a firewall spring up behind her. It didn't help too much.

Jaune jumped back as Cinder started to get very angry, mixing the old and new abilities haphazardly. Most of the fire was sent at Pyrrha who kept to range. While any walls of fire merely slowed down the bullets to just annoyances, if it impacted onto her dress directly without anything to stop it the bullets didn't do much to the Fall Maiden's back. Or arms. Or anything, really. Why she was pulling up the walls... ah, right, still very angry.

Pyrrha watched over her scope as their opponent turned her swords to ash before reforming them into the bow from before. She turned, slinging a fiery wave that made Jaune stumble back as it hit his shield before she loosed a newly created arrow, colored the same as her bow, to fire at Pyrrha. Instead of trying to block it, Pyrrha leaned to a side. The arrow grazed her bare shoulder, not cutting skin thanks to her aura.

Cinder smirked hatefully for a second before flicking her hand. She gave one last shockwave to Jaune, knocking the blond onto his back as Pyrrha gasped in pain. She fell to a knee and looked at her leg. The arrow had redirected itself and was lodged in her heel, immobilizing her with pain and the inability to put any weight on that leg any more. The black-haired woman sauntered over to Pyrrha, shooting a couple more arrows to knock Milo and Akouo away. "It was unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours."

Nocking another arrow, Cinder smirked at Pyrrha who looked at her balefully. "But take comfort in knowing," she drew it back slowly. "That **I** will use it in ways you could have never imagined."

Jaune watched from his kneeling position. He started getting up. The hand holding the bowstring in place was releasing the arrow. With the gap between them, he could... he could...!

If only time would _stop,_ Jaune could... why was everything muted? No, later. Right now, the arrow was right between the two women. Stand floating behind him, Jaune ran. He used his kite shield to destroy the arrow. The next second, Jaune was swinging his sword up at her face. Everything regained the bit of lost color.

Cinder managed to glare at Pyrrha with hatred before her eyes glassed over completely. Crumpling, the fire slinging woman was no more, body in one spot and head rolling to another.

Jaune watched as the body twitched a bit. He glances up at Pyrrha, who seemed a little in shock at the scene that just played out. Then she gasped as a familiar smokey light zoomed to her, enveloping the redhead in power without anyone else's aura mixed in.

Pyrrha slowly settled down from the surge of power and energy. She didn't instinctively know what to do with it, but after having seen it being used, she had some ideas. Green eyes slowly move from the night sky to blue ones, both confused and wanting some answers. "What just... happened?"

Before any answers could come, a roar broke the night. Looking to the source, they saw the dragon Grimm flying back towards them. Pyrrha looked at her hands, and clenched them before glaring at the giant flying gnat. ...okay, that style of thought was not one she'd be using, but it was probably appropriate if she could do this right. "Stay right here. I have an idea."

"Pyrrha, an army wouldn't be able to beat that thing. What're you...?" Jaune watched as his partner walks to the edge of the former office's area. Slowly she started to float, and he watched as she summoned a multitude of flames. It took a few seconds to get enough going, but Pyrrha unknowingly mimicked one of the last attacks Cinder had used on Ozpin by shooting a giant flame cannon at the dragon Grimm. It was in the middle of roaring again when it was split in two by the fiery beam.

On seeing the giant corpse burning and disintegrating on its way down, both had just one reaction. The events of the night caught up with them, and they collapsed. Pyrrha backwards thankfully, while Jaune fell on his front, away from the bloody puddle that was forming behind him.


	13. Chapter 13

Weiss glared at Blake heatedly, arm on her hip. "And where are you going?"

The cat Faunus looked around a bit, too quickly to have innocent intentions. "Just to, to get some food. I'd be back."

"Mmhmm. And why are you leaving the infirmary where Yang is currently recovering but not going in the direction of the mess where Ruby is?"

"Well, uh, the-there's..."

"Blake. Tell me. How do you think your leaving would impact us?" Amber eyes turn shocked into icy blues. "...nothing? Let me tell you. I would be disappointed, because you promised us you wouldn't run to someone or somewhere else if a situation got too heated. Ruby would be sad and ashamed of _herself,_ thinking because she wasn't a good friend, you left. Yang would be _devastated_ , and who knows how long it would take to get her out of that funk. If anyone could. So please, tell me, how would your leaving help?"

"I'd be, I'd be protecting you all! The White-"

"The White Fang has damaged us, but we're still going to be targets, Blake! If not because of who we are to you, than because of what we are. We're still humans, and that is enough of a reason for the White Fang to set their sights on us. So tell me, how would your leaving protect Ruby, your partner's little sister, Yang, your partner and best friend, or me, an heiress to the SDC?"

Recoiling back as her reasons were shattered, Blake tried to stammer out why she had to go. "Ad-Adam, he would-"

"Same reasons as the White Fang in general, Blake. Now come on. Your friends are waiting on you." With that, Weiss started walking towards her and used her one arm to start dragging the wannabe runaway back. Blake looked at the white-haired woman pulling her, ears flat under her bow. Why?

"Why do you care so much? I'm not... we aren't..."

"You're my teammate, Blake. You're Ruby and Yang's friend. I don't need more reasons."

Silence, besides their shoes on the pavement.

...

"I won't make you apologize to them." Her head swiveled quickly. "You didn't make it out. So I won't make you apologize for what you didn't complete. But if you try it again, there will be punishment besides me sticking to you for who knows how long."

"Weiss... I-"

"No. Don't. You were stopped, you were chastised, and I'm not letting you out of my sight unless you're with Yang or Ruby. That is all."

...

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Re-entering the infirmary tent, Blake saw Yang was groggily stretching her arms, moving her right one in a familiar motion. The cat Faunus quickly moved and took her remaining hand, drawing lilac eyes her way. While still a little sad from the remembrance of what had happened, they were still happy to see such a good sight.

And she had planned to leave without a word... How would these eyes look at the world after that? After thinking that... Blake quickly moved to hug Yang tightly, trying to keep the tears from falling but failing, quietly sobbing into her partner's shoulder.

Were it not for the tense atmosphere, Yang would have made a joke. As it was, she just stroked Blake's back and looked at Weiss confusedly. The heiress gave a slight smile before turning to leave the tent. She had another partner to find, and Ruby was probably not in the best of moods given team JNPR were all in the infirmary too, three members still out because of their exhaustion and the other awake and healing but very much in pain. Apparently channeling so much electricity had limits.

Sitting next to a familiar red hood, Weiss bumped shoulders with the younger girl. "Hey."

Looking to her partner, the silver-eyed one smiled genuinely for the first time all day. "Hey."


	14. Chapter 14

Jaune flexed his arm, frowning a bit at how just two days under had made his limbs stiff. Still, there was too much to do and he needed to coordinate with his team. Looking to the awake members of JNPR, their Valkyrie asleep from a previous sugar rush or so he'd been told, the blond sighed through his nose. "Alright, so. What're our plans? The White Fang is currently a lot less powerful than before, but I think we just cut a head off a Hydra. So how're we gonna deal with the two new heads? If we're dragged back into the fight, anyway. For all we know, there isn't much we can do right now."

Ren was quiet, holding Nora's hand while looking to his friend and leader. He'd been awake the longest out of the three, having suffered the least injuries but using a lot of his aura and Semblance during the Beacon Incursion. "...I'll be sticking with Nora for a while. After she's recovered enough, I don't concretely know what she'll want to do, but there are a few ideas kicking around in both our heads."

Pyrrha smiled a bit at the odd way the boy with a pink streak spoke. Someone had been hanging around with a Rose for too long, it seemed. "I want to see my family back in Mistral, but I'm not sure how many Bullheads or larger airships will be going that way with intercontinental comms down. Especially if the border guard has stepped up to what regulations say they should in emergencies like this." The redhead kept an eye on her thinking cr-partner. She was curious what he would say, and if he'd try to put their situations in front of his any. His family was a lot closer, after all.

"I can understand that. I want to check on my family too... and Isle Barbus is pretty close. We can head there, I can talk to them a bit, and we'll get some supplies for a training trip somewhere." It was a relatively good thing long-range communication was the only thing down. Everything that ran without it or had a closed circuit worked just fine still. So most stores were still up and running, though most flights and vacations were put on hold because no one knew if they were going to be able to continue with them in present conditions. None of team JNPR had tried it yet, but most scrolls still had a working GPS as well, along with other automated vehicles. Well, working if you only wanted to go places that you'd already visited, anyway. No one could find a new place via electronic means any more, so it was a good thing that paper... everything, were still plentiful.

"A training trip? What for?" Pyrrha tilted her head a bit, green eyes interested and literally lighting up a bit for a second as her excitement at the thought of spending more time with Jaune caused a bit of her Maiden powers to leak out. Ren glanced over while the Arc missed it. The new Fall Maiden was still getting used to her enhanced body, and if she was right...

"So we can help you train your new powers away from anyone that could get caught in the crossfire. I'm sure people wouldn't mind if some patches of trees were found burned to the ground here and there." The whole of JNPR knew the situation since Qrow Branwen had come by and said that the three of them were able to learn the full story since they'd be spending the most time around her. And it'd be easier to keep everyone's stories straight when they all were in the know. But they hadn't been allowed to tell team RWBY about Pyrrha's new powers, since there wasn't a need to do so right now. "And besides that, the White Fang... really isn't our fight. None of us are trained to take on other sentient beings, mostly. So let's go back to what our chosen profession is: Grimm hunting."

That, the two of them could get behind. Ren looked to Nora after feeling her hand twitch and smiled a bit at the excited state being suppressed for the next few seconds. "That. Sounds. GREAT! We'll go on adventures and meet new people maybe save some damsels in distress and eat a ton of good food," she paused to gasp dramatically, "Ren what if we get in a situation where YOU'RE the one in distress! That'd be pretty neat and pretty bad but I'd break anyone's legs to get you back don't worry good buddy we'd be together again! Well, y'know, not, together together, but still, y'know, y'know?" It still amused Jaune and Pyrrha to no end how bashful Nora could occasionally get when talking about her and Ren's relationship. Usually it was just a slight change in how she talked that lasted for all of six words but there were times where she got very pink in the face. This was in the middle of those two or thereabouts, not fully blushing but definitely the sort of subdued that came from wanting to say something not what she just had but feeling she had to. "Boop!"

"Boop." Ren poked her nose back, getting the orange haired girl to laugh a bit and hug him. "Unf!"

"So, Pyrrha, you mind accompanying me to my home and around Vale a bit before we get to Mistral?" The redhead turned back to Jaune and grinned wide before nodding quickly. "Alright! First we'll finish recovering here and head out. Since my motion sickness is only from being on airships, we can take a bus down to the port, where we can rent a boat. Or use the family skiff, that might be docked there." Jaune leaned back on his chair, thinking about how they'd get to Isle Barbus and ignoring Ren's quiet pleas for help escaping the hugging menace along with Pyrrha.

* * *

Jaune secured Crocea Mors to his hip, going over the plan with his partner one last time as they got ready to leave during the night. Ren and Nora had left that morning on their own journey to learn more and possibly upgrade their weapons with promises all around to meet back up in half a year to compare, contrast and just meet up again. Pyrrha had cut her ponytail to a shorter length, both to make it more manageable and so she didn't freeze off more of it when training later.

That had been an interesting discovery over the last week. Team JNPR had talked with Qrow and Glynda for a few days, going over what Pyrrha could and could not do. That second category was very small and the only things the two teachers could definitively say was 'control Grimm and bring back the dead'. With enough practice, Pyrrha would be able to control the weather in a VERY wide area, turning leaves into icicles, launching fireballs, creating tornadoes or launching pinpoint lightning strikes with a gesture. _"And that was just what Amber did when she was holding back against humans. No one was allowed anywhere near when she fought Grimm, and any drones that we tried to send in to watch fizzled out because of the energy in the air. Not the lightning, the energy. Maidens have so much power and ways to use it that calling it magic isn't far off."_

With that interesting nugget, along with a few notebooks on Amber Autumn's own experience as the Fall Maiden, Jaune and Pyrrha had gotten to playing around with her new elemental abilities yesterday and today. After neatly cutting off half of Pyrrha's ponytail diagonally, they'd taken a break and went to a hair salon. Most people still considered it a minor miracle that they could still pay for things, while some runners from the Council of Vale had come around and spread news of their attempting to make a new CCT Tower in a more secure area than the slowly-being-repaired Beacon courtyard. Said school would be reopening in a few days, but most of the students in all years were going off to do their own things, permanently and not.

Bringing his attention back to himself and his partner, Jaune slipped his backpack on before working his pauldrons on, along with a gauntlet. Pyrrha had taken to wearing her more conservative armor almost constantly, along with pants plus her skirt. The high-heeled boots had been replaced by smaller ones that were flat heeled and would be more suited to walking long distances. "We ready?"

"As we can be. You're sure we'll get there at lunch by leaving now and not in the morning?"

"Trust me Pyrrha. I've picked up quite a bit from my mom about planning for long trips walking." With that said, the blond lead his redhead partner and friend out of their tent and around to the exit. It was passed the mess area where most of the students from every school that remained in Vale for one reason or another currently hung out. Pyrrha saw that team RWBY was having their own dinner and being just as much part of the ruckus as anyone, though they were keeping their foodfight to their own table. For now.

As they walked to the edge of the clearing where the Beacon, Shade and Haven staff had set up camp, Jaune and Pyrrha noted that the gate guard was one Peter Port. Who was asleep. He wrote down on the logbook that they were leaving and put down the time they'd be gone as 'undetermined'. They had no idea when they'd return to Beacon, though Vale City was a different story. Setting the pencil back down, they resumed walking out towards the city where they'd pass through, not spend the night in a hotel this time but they would after getting closer to the other edge, and then walk for a few days to a different port town where the Arc family had a personal berth for their boats.


	15. Chapter 15

Jaune rolled his head a bit, and looked around. They'd stopped in a forest, sparring and trying out their abilities. Pyrrha might have gotten the hang of the mindset for using her powers as the Fall Maiden, but the Arc had something he wanted to test. "Pyrrha, mind doing something real quick?" The redhead looked over from her practicing forms with Milo. "Would you spin Milo with your Semblance as first as you can? Don't move it, just make it spin in the air." Green eyes blinked a bit curiously before she shrugged and did as asked. The blond flicked out his arm, summoning his Stand. Milo was a red and gold blur in front of him.

It wasn't something he could do situationally. He needed that power under his control, something he could do at will. It was something he hadn't picked up from any of the students he'd seen, it was innately Jaune Arc's ability. So he had to have it able to work at his call.

"Time stops."

He heard it before seeing the change. Like everything was slowing for a moment before a clock stopped ticking the seconds. Jaune looked at the spinning Milo and saw it just hanging in the air at an angle. Walking around, he was tempted to try and poke it, but after remembering that the arrow had been destroyed before time resumed, he'd rather not see if changing the angle would result in an amputated Pyrrha. That would be bad for both of them.

Glancing at his gold-armored Stand, Jaune saw everything resume moving as well. He looks to Pyrrha as she looked to her left before seeing him on her right. "How'd you get over there? I didn't even blink!" Anything she had to say about his improvements was stalled by a raised hand.

"You didn't hear me say 'time stops'?" He glances around, but nothing had stopped moving. The air was moving over his face, the forest sounds continued... Intent, maybe?

"No, I just started spinning Milo. You were standing in front of me, then you were over here." Pyrrha stopped spinning her xiphos, replacing it on her back for now along with Akouo. "So your Semblance is stopping time? ...no, that can't be it. No one has managed that sort of thing ever. There's been a lot of people that could accelerate themselves so fast it looked like time slowed to a crawl, but no one has ever reported their Semblance as stopping time before."

Jaune figured he'd let her go with that. Though... "I dunno. I think... I think its something my Stand does. This time and last time, it was outside my head. And I can't use any of the Semblances I've copied without it being active, too." They'd tested that out yesterday. The Arc had tried to use Pyrrha's own polarity with just his own aura manipulation, but The... Stand popped out and mimicked his motions exactly. He ran through the different Semblances that had been copied, and each one yielded the same result: Summoning his Stand so _it_ could use the Semblance, not Jaune.

"That's possible. Think Blake would be able to tell the difference?" Now what was that odd bit to her voice and eyes?

"Probably not. Until we work out what my Semblance actually is, if we ever do, I'll just run on the assumption that anything not my own skills comes from this guy." She nodded at that. Most Huntsmen and Huntresses figured out their Semblance somewhere in their early careers, usually while students, but there were some that took much longer to do so. A minority couldn't at all for one reason or another, or had a Semblance that worked only under specific circumstances that were hard to replicate. Still, they found a workaround that still left them either at the same level or above their teammates, most of the time.

"Anyway, let's get going. The next bus leaves in a few minutes, and I'd rather have lunch in a cafe than on the road." Jaune slipped his scroll back into his pocket before the two went to grab their bags and leave the forest. After a few minutes, an idea hit him. "Oh, say, Pyrrha. I've been meaning to ask this for a while. Why'd you choose me?"

The redhead looked over curiously, humming her response. "Well, I remember that during initiation, you stuck me to a tree. What made you think I'd be a good partner? Weiss was more than willing to partner up, and probably every other first year too if they had found you first. So why me?"

The reply was not long in coming. "...my Semblance lets me feel the polarity of various metals, with very few exceptions. But it can't tell me if there's a person around at all. There have been two times in my life when that changed. The first was in my second year at Sanctum, before my second tournament. I was being hounded by publicity agents in a lobby. So many of them were looking to make it big with this fourteen year old girl who might make it to the semi-finals. I saw in a corner this mouse woman and worked my way over. For some reason, she just seemed... better than the rest. When we first met, she was quiet and not very good at telling me how to work a camera or the audience, but after a while, I won my second tournament. She became the most influential person in my entourage in Mistral after that. She's part of the reason I came to Beacon, actually. She recommended it over Haven."

Jaune rose an eyebrow at that. That was interesting. "And then, when I arrived at the Airship that would take us to Beacon, I felt a pull again. I didn't recognize it as similar to what lead me to my agent until we were in the auditorium. You said something that got my attention."

"Where am I supposed to find a nice, quirky girl to talk to? Really? How did that get your attention?"

"Well, aside from that, you had an air about you that... no one else did. You went into Beacon untrained, so you had a look that I recognized in a few people when I was at Sanctum. But they didn't have a pull like you did. When you introduced yourself to Weiss and I the next day, I felt it far stronger than before. So, I stacked the deck in my favor."

"By sticking me to a tree. So, what were you following to find me, me or Milo?"

"You. Milo might be familiar to me, but I couldn't feel it from so far away. But you... even now, I could point you out in a crowd, blindfolded, Jaune." That surprised him. Looking to Pyrrha, he saw those emerald eyes looking back, honest and kind and beautiful...

"Why me?"

"...it was just because you didn't know me at first. You were and are a breath of fresh air, Jaune. You didn't know a thing about me besides being on Pumpkin Pete's, and I came to Beacon for the anonymity of a new continent. Eve...eventually, I felt..." They'd stopped walking by now, just standing in the forest across from each other, emeralds looking into blues. "I felt something I didn't think about ever. You're my... best friend, Jaune Arc. And I'm so happy to have met you."

She hesitated. Why did she hesitate? There shouldn't be any... oh. Well. Maybe that time she slammed him into a wall... huh. That put a new perspective on a lot of things, actually. Mostly after first semester. Jaune took a short breath. Well, he was feeling as confident as possible right now. He stepped forward, brought a hand up to her cheek and watched Pyrrha's eyes widen a bit. Her smile grew as well, and two sets of eyes closed as they leaned into each other.

Neither would be able to say which of them really started it. But given it lasted for much longer than just a couple seconds, both enjoyed it quite a bit. They'd entered a world all their own, and no one was around to bring them back.


	16. Chapter 16

Exiting the forest, Jaune and Pyrrha looked normal as can be. Her hair was in the proper place, his was just a little messier but training normally did that. The walk had been long enough that he could adjust his hoodie and shirt back to a publicly appealing state while she wore a top that was quite difficult to take off and put back on in public settings. So any evidence of their time in the forest was under her pants more than anything. Both walked normal as can be as they headed to a bus stop, though they were holding hands. "And you're sure I don't have to apologize for being dumb any more?"

"No Jaune. You didn't have to apologize the first time, or any of the times after that." Amused emerald eyes looked at the path as the pair moved to the bus stop. Apparently the vehicle was a few minutes late, which was fine by them. Pyrrha didn't sit on his lap as they waited on the bench, but Jaune thought it was a close thing since his arm managed to move around her enough that his hand was nearly back on his own thigh. As they sat there and waited, he didn't mind the looks going their, or more likely Pyrrha's, way since he knew who she liked, and given how the Mistrali was currently nuzzling into his neck, so did everyone else. He could get used to this.

* * *

Pyrrha tilted her head curiously as they walked passed the port where all the other boats were docked and waiting. Though she hadn't seen any signs for any boats going to 'Isle Barbus'. "Jaune, isn't your boat...?"

"Nope. We have a private berth away from the normal port. Those guys have personal berths, but only a few people have a private berth over here." Jaune walks towards a ritzy looking hotel. Pyrrha was pretty sure that she'd have stayed in this place if her agent knew about it. Given they were not here to rest though, she just walked with Jaune.

The blond entered the hotel and walked towards the receptionist desk. "Hello. Would you have any tables in the restaurant open?" After the man looked at him skeptically, Jaune handed over his scroll without a word. The man's eyes widened. After the CCT Tower's destruction, the only ones who... He took it to swipe over a reader and got a short list of things Jaune was allowed to do in the hotel. Taking his scroll back, the Arc pocketed it. "Thank you."

Pyrrha found herself curious what was going on, since Jaune was walking with a different false confidence than she was used to. Where during Beacon's early days, it had been more of a bravado that some men used when picking up women, or so she'd seen in movies, this seemed more like what Pyrrha used when confronting an opponent she knew nothing about and had to fight in an exhibition match. Practiced motions that would lead into the normal instinctive ones after a short time. "...Jaune, why did that scroll reader react to your scroll? The net is down, so how...?"

"Well, there's a story behind that." He pulled out her chair, and Pyrrha settled herself into it before slipping her gloves off and setting them on the bag next to her. Jaune sat across from her, removing his own fingerless gloves. "My dad helped the owner of this hotel one time. Then more times. He basically is the reason this place isn't in the ground by way of murder investigations."

THAT was a surprise! Pyrrha ordered her drink and let Jaune do the same before asking deeper. "How many and how bad were the murders? That sort of thing isn't fixed easily." She listened with rapt attention as her partner went into stories that he knew about half as well as the strategies that team JNPR could use with just a word or two. So the detail that went into them as the appetizers came and went, their entrees appearing and disappearing, and finally to-go cups for their drinks as Jaune led her to the hotel's private berth went by. Pyrrha sipped at her empty cup before tossing it into a trash can while Jaune finished another story. "...and then the perp was shot down on a road between cities. Given how those bodies were found, everyone agreed he had it coming."

"...you could be a bard, Jaune. If we ever find ourselves strapped for cash, try that some time." He laughed a bit, enjoying the wide eyes and sparkling in the emeralds as Pyrrha watched him.

"I'll keep that in mind. Ah, here we are." The Arc waved his scroll over a reader and entered the doorway. The Mistrali following him in, she found that the boat was nothing special. It didn't look to have a cabin below deck, just the wheel, a little area for guests, and storage space for a lot of bags. "Dad's personal little boat, the Mansion's Black Rose. Don't ask me where he got the name."

"...if this is his personal boat, how come he let you take it and leave it here in Vale for so long?"

"Ehhhhh, it might have something to do with the vast amounts of cherry soda I bribed him with. Dad has a sweet tooth for anything cherry, for future reference. If you want him to do anything, give him something with cherries or cherry flavor." He and his sisters hadn't exploited that for most of their lives, no sir.

Chuckling a bit at that, Pyrrha took Jaune's hand and entered the boat after him. Sliding her bag under the seat, she looked to him as he worked. It was quick, efficient and practiced. "How many times have you driven this boat?"

"Mmmm, take our age. Multiply it by five. That should be the amount of times I can count doing this. But there have been a lot of times where I didn't start it or only held the wheel for a few seconds or something also. Hold on." The Arc started the boat forward slowly, turning it towards Isle Barbus before hitting a button. A chair folded up in front of the wheel, which he sat on. Turning to Pyrrha, he opened his mouth to say something.

That was quickly thrown out the window after she moved onto his lap and took over his lips. Jaune was quite content to let most of the trip be spent like this.

* * *

A few hours later found their boat ride coming to an end. Pyrrha was still on Jaune's lap, but with her back to his chest and his arms around her waist. She'd taken off her combat attire completely earlier, replacing the corset and armor with a purple sweater that didn't hide her figure while sitting on her boyfriend's lap but was not very complimenting otherwise. Similarly, her pale hands were uncovered as she steered the boat towards the pier on Isle Barbus. "Alright, just a little more to port, and..." He reaches forward, slowly lowering the lever that controlled the speed as they pulled up alongside the wood. "I think you'll have a hang of that in no time, Pyrrha!"

"It is very different from driving a scooter, I'll say that." The images those words evoked in Jaune's mind were clashing. One was a smaller Pyrrha, riding a scooter powered by her own feet, while the other was Pyrrha as he knew her on a road, stuck in traffic and yelling at people while on a dust-powered scooter. He wasn't sure which was sillier. On asking, he learned it was the first.

Laughing a bit, he let go so Pyrrha could stand and get her bags and weapons while Jaune stood and went to tie the Black Rose to the pier. Tugging the knot a couple times, he nodded before turning to catch his own bag. Slinging it over his shoulder, the Arc stepped out before helping Pyrrha out. He tried not to laugh as she stumbled a couple steps. "Sea legs are not uncommon."

With that, they started walking towards the nearby town. A couple people were pointing, unsure who would be coming to their tiny island at this point in time before they recognized one of them. "Whoa, Jaune, you're back! Where'd you go? We've been short our best guy all year, and now we can't even hold the tournament with signal down everywhere!"

He gave the young man and woman a grin. "Hi Slate, hi Aqua. I was out learning to be a Huntsman, nothing major. This is Pyrrha Nikos, my partner and girlfriend." That introduction got a blushing grin from the said girl. The kissed cheek was nice, but Jaune wasn't quite sure it was needed. Not that he didn't like it, but he'd rather keep such things private if possible.

Aqua whistled a bit, looking Pyrrha up and down. "...aren't you on Pumpkin Pete's? What'd you do to land... be a _HUNTSMAN?!_ "

Jaune reached up to rub his ear as the two brown haired teens finally took in the weapons on her back and his hip. "Yeah. Came back to say hi to friends and family before heading out again. Always more things to learn and all."

Aqua sputtered something unintelligible for a few moments while Slate just looked at Jaune like he'd grown two heads. "...dude, what about your parents? They must be mad as hell about that."

"Eh, I can take their punishments. I'm old enough to make my own decisions, and I've got the strength to back them up."

That gave the two childhood friends pause. Even just standing there, sword on his hip and bag over his shoulder, holding onto a girl's hand, they had to admit. This was a very different Jaune than what they were used to. They found it hard to doubt that statement. "So, what about Kylie? You're still sure about...?"

That question got a snort from the blond and a curious look from the redhead. "Yeah, still not changing my mind on her. Girl wants to be the school bicycle, I'm not going to cry over it again. Got over her real quick, you remember that. Hm? Old ex. Couple years ago, that bluster? It got me a girlfriend. She lost my trust after a month, since pictures of her and the local head jock circulated not long after a dance. I hadn't quite believed it would go anywhere like these two love maniacs ( **"Hey!"** _"Not a maniac!"_ ), so I wasn't too upset over it. But now, I have you," Jaune brought Pyrrha's hand up to kiss the back of it, and received a smile from her. "So why dwell on the past longer than necessary?"

With that, he looked to his old friends. "So, if ya don't mind, I have a reunion with my family awaiting me and probably some bruises too." That got the two to step aside as the blond lead his happy-again girlfriend to the edge of town. From there, they went down a forested road and eventually turned seemingly randomly between two trees. After a few more minutes walking, Pyrrha saw that it hadn't been random. In front of her stood a home that looked like it had been renovated many times over its life. Whether that was just to accommodate eight children or not she wasn't sure.

"JAUNE!"

The blond went down with an 'oof!', a purple-haired missile attaching itself to his back. At least there wasn't anything fragile in his bag or pockets. "You're home!" Pyrrha blinked before realizing that this was apparently one of the sisters's friends... who was very close to the whole family?

"Hi Plum. How're you?" ...or this was one of the seven sisters. Huh.

"I'm okay! Better now that you're home! ...whozis?" Looking up at Pyrrha, the champion saw that the purple-haired girl looked nothing at all like Jaune, and had whiskers but no other distinguishing marks for what sort of Faunus she was. Except maybe the teeth and nose, that looked like a hint of overbite and it was a very cute nose.

"Hello. I'm Pyrrha, Jaune's girlfrie-" " **EEEEEEE!** " The redhead reeled back a bit as the squeeing girl latched onto her midsection.

From the house rushed out four people, one man and three women. "Plum, what's goi-Jaune? Jaune! **GIRLS! JAUNE'S BACK! AND HE BROUGHT A _GIRL_ HOME!**"

"...I'm not prepared for this."

"No one is."


	17. Chapter 17

Pyrrha looked to the four people walking towards her, her boyfriend who was getting up, and the plum-haired little hamster hugging her. Patting the tiny one's head, and getting a pleased giggle before she retreated to who was presumably her adopted mother, the champion took in the features. "So, Jaune, why did it never occur to you to mention that some of your siblings were adopted?"

"Well, it never came up. And aside from the difference in looks, I don't put much stock in the distinction. They're all my sisters, some just came premade instead of the process happening in front of me."

That was... certainly a way to look at it. Still, Pyrrha turned her emerald eyes back to the three women. Two of them were blonde, while the other was blue-haired. Each had figures that Pyrrha wouldn't feel jealous of because her own training was pushing her into that very same frame. Given the blondes had Jaune's own eyes and some of his features, she figured that those two were related to each other and him. The red-haired man was so completely different from her boyfriend that Pyrrha wondered if he was even his biological father for a second before taking in the stance and the smaller things. Having been nuzzling his neck on and off during the bus and boat rides, Pyrrha felt that... nope, don't compare the two. Madness lies down that road.

Jaune, meanwhile, missed his girlfriend's suddenly conflicted face while hugging the three women in turn. "Hi Mom, hi Jacqie, hi Nicole. Dad." The two males fist bumped before Jaune backpedaled. "Whoa! That thing looks way freakier than Janine said it was!"

Mr. Arc hummed a bit as he crossed his arms. "So, when, how, why did you awaken your Stand, and what does it look like?" The green blob looking man hovered behind him, arms crossed and yellow eyes impassive behind the silver wiring that kept everything looking like a man.

"During my early days at Beacon, it just appeared, see above." Jaune flicked his arm out, the orange-eyed man raising an eyebrow at the giant made of pale muscles and golden armor that floated out of his son. The younger blonde, Jacqie, gave a much more open reaction to the Stand, blinking then grinning and starting to move closer.

Before anyone could do anything else, the front door opened again and four more young females came out. Two were blondes the same age as Jaune if still half a head shorter, one was a differently shaded blonde between him and Nicole in height with a very fluffy looking squirrel tail, and the last was a blonde with her father's eyes but even in height with Plum. They all were running towards her brother besides one of the female triplets who gaped at the Stand he had.

"Man overboard!" Came the muffled cry as the only male Arc of this generation found himself smothered in female bodies, his Stand returning to his head before any of them reached him. Muffled, because the taller blonde had smushed his head into her ample, bikini-clad bosom while the shorter blondes each took a different part of his torso. Once more, Jaune landed on the ground with a grunt.

"I see that everyone is very affectionate here..." Pyrrha wondered if maybe she should have looked into staying on the boat or something. This looked like a worse monster than mobs of rabid fans. There might have been ways to avoid those, but this was not an event with security and deadlines to be met. The eldest blonde walked over and held out her hand.

"You can say that. Hello, I'm Jeanne Arc. This is Jacqueline, Nicole, Sandra, Jasmine, you know Jaune, Janine, you also know Plum, and Joleen. This tall drink of cherry juice ( **"Mmmm..."** ) is Kakyoin, my husband." The two shook.

Pyrrha had a feeling this was going to be a VERY confusing meeting and visit. At least the 'J'-named Arcs were unique enough. "Pyrrha Nikos. Nice to meet you all." ...wait, this place might have thin walls. _Plans_ would need to change... at least she wasn't wearing anything sexy underneath the sweater. No need to let good lingerie go to waste because of too much talking and playing leaving you unwilling to use it.

Looking to Jaune, the still standing Arcs and Nikos saw he had finally managed to get the blondes off of him. Pyrrha saw that all three were in swimsuits, not just the squirrel girl. ...okay, her, she was a little envious of. But that quickly went away given she remembered Jaune appreciated her looks quite a bit.

Focus, Pyrrha!

Shaking herself a bit, the redheaded girl smiled a bit as Jaune pat his youngest sister's head before looking to the triplet next to him. "So, how is everyone? I didn't keep in touch as much as anyone would've liked, and I'm sorry about that."

Quickly shuffling out from under the oppressive hand of her only brother, Joleen looked up at him. "Hey, hey, what's its name? Have you named it yet?" At the confused look while everyone started going inside, she continued. "Your Stand! Have you named it yet? I named Jasmine and Janine's for them, so, so!"

Laughing a bit, Jaune shrugged. "No, I haven't. I have tried, but nothing seems to fit very well. What're their Stands' names?" Before Joleen could answer, a throat cleared. Looking to the sound, they saw it originated from Jasmine.

She had her arms crossed under her chest and looked cross with her male triplet. "So. Given Beacon has been ruined, you're here to stay and not chase everdistant dreams, right?"

Jaune sighed a bit before squaring himself. The other Arcs all found it a surprising stance while Pyrrha wondered why he looked ready for battle. "No, Jasmine. I'm not going to stop being a Huntsman just because school is closed for a bit. And it will reopen, even with Headmaster Ozpin dead. All the other teachers are still alive and there's no reason for them to stop teaching while everything gets repaired." Crossing his own arms, the two exchanged sharp looks. "I'm already too invested in this to stop. This isn't like when I tried to be a musician or writer or any of those. I'm not fully trained, but I can defeat any of the Grimm that form on Isle Barbu-"

"Patch. We live on Patch, Jaune."

"...on Isle Barbus. They're too weak to stand a chance against me. So that dream? It isn't everdistant. Still a long time away, but I can fight better than you might think. You all did see me fight in the Vytal Festival Tournament, right?" Jasmine seemed brought up short at that. The Arc household all gave a few comments about how cool or strong he looked. "So, given I managed to get to the semi-finals and managed to defeat my opponent when she went berserk thanks to my team, who Pyrrha is a part of, how am I still too weak, Jasmine? _Dad_?"

Pyrrha looked to Kakyoin as he sighed, rolling his eyes and starting to say something that was probably oft-repeated. "No. Don't. I've already gotten past wanting to be trained by you. Mom, mind if we speak in private later? Got something to ask you." Jeanne looked curious and nodded. The champion wondered what the topic would be. And thought of her own parents. How worried must they be right now?

"Jaune, you're not a Huntsman! You're a student without a school, so there's no reason to-!"

"There is a reason, Jasmine! I'm one of the watchers against the Grimm, whether you like it or not!" This was one of the few times any of them had seen Jaune actually angry. He was so laidback most of the time the Arc family forgot he could get incensed about anything after being apart for so long, while Pyrrha felt she should probably help him work out some stress with a spar or five later. "So just stop trying to trample on my pride like you have the rest of our lives, and get used to it!"

Jasmine looked genuinely hurt at that. "Ja, Jaune... I, I haven't... That's not..."

Jaune looked to his youngest sister. "Still want to name my Stand?" She nodded quickly, looking a little scared of her brother still. He quickly reined in his feelings before smiling at her. "Mind if we do that in your room?" Joleen thought for a second before nodding again, taking his hand and heading for the stairs leading upwards. Plum followed quickly, curious and wanting to spend time with her brother again.

Pyrrha looked at the trio before turning her attention back to the Arc family left on the first floor. They all looked like they'd just realized something, and she doubted that anyone was in the mood to talk right now. Without trying to be subtle, she went up to look for her boyfriend and his sisters. On seeing that the second flight of stairs leading up was next to the one she just climbed, the champion listened for a moment. She turned away from the stairs and went down a hallway where the sound of squeaking laughter came from.

Peaking inside a third open doorway, she found her quarry. Pyrrha slipped in and stood to a side, watching as Jaune tickled Plum's sides. Joleen was giggling a bit from watching before turning back to look for her tarot deck. It was a few more seconds of waiting, in which Plum managed to climb onto Jaune's back away from his tickling hands, before the young blonde let out a triumphant "Ah ha!" Standing, she held up a card sheath. Moving to the bed, she sat next to Jaune and slid out the deck of cards. Beginning to shuffle it, Joleen looked to him and started explaining how she'd named their sisters' Stands. "I let them pull out a card from anywhere in the deck. Jasmine got the Six of Cups, which in my deck represents a mental standstill, wanting to keep things as they are no matter what, when upside down like she drew it. She didn't like it, though, so she made me draw more cards until she forced a different name onto her Stand. It responds every third time she commands it with the name Ace of Cups.

"Janine was a lot happier with her Chariot, drawn upright. She calls it 'Fang Chariot', though. After spending some time around them and daddy training, me and Jacqie started seeing their Stands. It was pretty cool! One day, we were just sitting, watching them all move around like they were dancing, and then I blinked, and I saw them! Daddy's was in the middle of shooting jewels at them, and Janine had Fang Chariot slash them, and then Jasmine got frustrated because her Stand wasn't responding to her commands, so they stopped after a few minutes." Jaune looked to Plum. The hamster-girl looked like she was interested in what was about to happen, but not the story. Likely she didn't know or care what was being talked about right now.

Jaune looked to Joleen as the small blonde finished shuffling, and held out her uneven deck. With cards pointing every which way, she said, "Pick a card, any card." Not trusting his fingers to knock several loose, Jaune summoned his Stand. Joleen turned her head to watch it as the giant floated there. And then it had a card in hand, holding it in front of Jaune. "Whoooooaaaa!"

The male Arc in the room brought his own hand up to hold the card. "...The World. Upright." He turned the card so his sisters could see it, Pyrrha having leaned over his shoulder. To Jaune's eyes, the character on the card looked like a stylized version of his newly named Stand.

Joleen grinned a bit at her brother. "Success is in your future, big bro! Your journey is coming to an end, but it isn't a bad one." That sounded like his life up to now. "You've had some good and bad times along the way, but through perseverance and help from your friends, you've come to this journey's conclusion. What will your next one be, I wonder?" She giggled a bit at the one-armed hug as he put the card back on her deck, then looked to Pyrrha. "Do you wanna draw a card?"

The redhead jolted a bit, having not expected to be brought into the conversation at all. "Oh, uhm... I'm alright, thank you." Joleen hummed a bit and pulled out a card at random. She blinked a bit in confusion before placing it on top of the deck. Now what did this little girl think she saw?

Plum poked at her sister a bit, wanting to draw her own card tooooooo. "Come oooooon! Maybe it won't be Judgment upside down again?"

Jaune chuckled a bit and stood up from the bed. "Well, I'll leave you girls for a bit. Gotta reclaim my room, unpack and all that." The two girls gave him hugs at the same time.

 _"Don't go!"_ He laughed at that, and pat their heads and tickled them until the girls relented. Turning to the dropped tarot cards, Plum and Joleen started reaching for them to pick them back up as Jaune and Pyrrha left. "Upside down Judgment again? AAAGH!"

As they moved towards the stairs going down, the sounds of voices talking was heard. Apparently everyone was either doing their own thing or having a very heated discussion. Jaune didn't want to get in the middle of that, and so was glad he and Pyrrha hadn't left their belongings downstairs. He leads her upstairs, the champion looking at the stairs going down as they went up. The soundproofing in the different floors was better than she'd have thought. Perhaps _plans_ could still go through... After they were set up and the day wasn't used up exhaustively.


	18. Chapter 18

Jaune walks down a familiar hallway. There were much fewer doors up here than on the second floor, since this had been intended for a far different purpose a long, long time ago. Still, former store rooms made for pretty big bedrooms. He wasn't complaining. Never lacking for space was nice.

Opening a door, he smiles in relief. "Oh good, they didn't rent out my room. ...or let any of my sister's boyfriends sleep here. That's nice." Jaune walks to his queen-sized bed, and drew his hand over the light golden duvet. Fingers drawing across the floral patterns, he finds that it was cool but not as if it had been sitting here for months without being used. More like... a couple days after being washed. "Well, make yourself at home, Pyrrha. While we're here, what's mine is yours."

Turning to her as he sits, Jaune finds his lap full of bag. "That's good. I'll be a moment, I hope you have some closet space." With that, she went to a closed door and entered his bathroom. The blond chuckled a bit, and set her bag on his bed before going to his closet. He was curious how many of his shirts would fit his now bulkier frame.

...eh, no. Not bulkier. Less lanky, if anything. Changing into some tighter fitting but not sweaty clothes, he sighs in relief again. Man, he did not think the difference would be that pronounced. Jaune walks back to his bag, and removes his armor and the various foodstuff, and used wrappers, left over from the trip. They'd spent quite a while in forests and on the side of roads, sleeping in tents and eating mostly ration bars if they weren't able to get a fire going for whatever reason. With communications down all over Vale, it had gotten a little less safe to be driving and infinitely moreso to be walking along a barely used road.

Thankfully, they were both able to guard themselves and repel the two attacks made on them. Pyrrha had finished them both, but only started one. The would-be bandits were sent running with their tails between their legs, one of them literally. Laying out on his bed, bags on the floor, Jaune wondered how long they'd be staying here. It wouldn't be very long, because there was still training to do and a promise to keep. Five and a half months left...

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha walk down the stairs back to the first floor, he holding his sheathed weapon. Everyone had calmed down, it seemed. Or separated into their separate camps. Still, he had a goal in mind. "Mom! Got some time to talk?" Jeanne looked up from her card game with the sisters that supported Jaune's going to Beacon, and tapped Plum in as she stood. The little hamster shuffles into her seat, looking determined.

"...what're the rules for this game?"

Jeanne walked over to her only son and his girlfriend. "What's up?" Jaune made a little motion with his arm that confused Pyrrha but his mother nodded at. She led them away from the living room to an office near the front door. Closing and locking the door, Jaune held up Crocea Mors.

"While I was at Beacon, I did something weird. And something weirder happened." Grasping the hilt reverse, Jaune turned the shortened golden lines towards Pyrrha and his mom before swiping a thumb over them. It was just the point, so he didn't cover the whole of them at all, but it still activated the transformation. Jeanne rose her eyebrows a bit while Pyrrha goggled at the new sword before her. That was not the Crocea Mors she knew. "Did Grandpa ever say anything about this to you?"

Jeanne leaned back a bit in thought. "...a few times. Dad's stories were wild and wide ranging, you remember that? He only told a story twice if asked. So, I asked about the story where he slew a dragon Grimm with a single swing twice. Even after you all were born, he'd never told that to you. Thankfully, I know the basic details from him and our history in Castle Barbus." Jaune moved to sit in the other chair in front of her desk, keeping the changed Crocea Mors in his lap.

"That is the actual Crocea Mors, if you haven't guessed. It has properties that the normal sword doesn't at all. It was not the first mechashifting item, but to my knowledge is the only shield-sheath combo left from near the beginning of Huntsmen and Huntresses. It's lasted for all these years thanks to... do you remember the story of the four Maidens?"

"Hello again. I'm, um, the latest Fall Maiden."

"...that makes this much easier. You're actually the only type of Maiden that sword hasn't been touched by. It was forged first by a Spring Maiden, sword and shield blessed by a Summer Maiden who was an Arc ancestor, and used to kill a mad Winter Maiden. None of those happened anywhere near each other, to let you know. But anyway, Crocea Mors is special because of its indestructibility, and a couple other things that happen when you push aura into it. According to Dad, it recreates our ancestor's Semblance by blasting aura out depending on how much you push to the blade. A small amount can increase your swinging speed and power in bursts, a 'medium' amount makes a sword shaped bullet when you stab or our namesake when you swing, a golden arc that flies through the air. And pushing enough aura into the sword that it starts to effect the environment is how Dad defeated a dragon Grimm in one swing: He called it the 'Strike of Promised Victory'. A giant golden wave or beam that burned the Grimm and everything behind it for he didn't know how many kilometers." Jeanne looked to her son as she paused to take a breath. "That's where the train through Forever Fall goes now."

Jaune blinked at that and looked at his sword for a second. "Huh. That's... huh. Wow. Do you know how long it takes to charge up Crocea Mors?"

The Arc matriarch shook her head. "No, I never held Crocea Mors in any form or watched Dad practice or hunt Grimm. I'm sure you can figure it out, though. You've managed to figure out how to not use your dad's advice and keep this one, you should have the rest in the bag." She grinned while Jaune facepalmed and Pyrrha tried hiding in her sweater, exposing her stomach a bit since it wasn't a turtleneck.

"Moooo~ooooom..."


	19. Chapter 19

Exiting his mom's office, Jaune hummed a bit as he looked around. Jasmine was in the kitchen right now, fixing... herself only it seemed some snacks. Given they were among the 'keep active' variety, he gathered that she was going to be doing homework or something in her and Janine's room. That brought up an interesting thought to the blond, so he walked over to his oldest adopted sister, seeing as Jacqie was playing cards still. "Say, aren't you all supposed to be in school right now?" The Vytal Festival had been going on during a lull in most school districts, but the local school, which functioned as every level since there weren't enough children or teachers to justify different buildings, should've been back in swing now. A couple weeks had passed, from when Jaune had woken up through his recovery and then him and Pyrrha leaving had been another. And it was currently only halfway through the day.

Nicole looks up from her book, a novel given the cover. "Our school can't grade anyone. You remember that 'going green' thing from before you left? It went through a few days after. We haven't used paper for any tests in months, but apparently the school didn't have a closed circuit net. So, every bell curve we tested and were graded against? National. And someone decided to get rid of the paper copies of everything besides the deed to the land after they got it all onto scrolls." She didn't have to go into detail on how stupid that was. Jaune and Pyrrha reacted appropriately to that.

"I can understand wanting to not cut down so many of your trees, but there's a limit to these things. Not even Beacon had everything on scrolls and the net!" The champion shook her head a bit. Some people...

The blue-haired Arc nodded a bit before closing her book and setting it to a side. "So, how did you two meet? You can't have come to Isle Bar-"

"Patch!"

"-bus together for no reason." The female Arcs ignored Jasmine as she went upstairs while Jaune and Pyrrha looked to his sister, then back to Nicole.

"Just a quick stopover. We'll grab some sleep, some homecooked food, and then supplies for a longer training trip that'll take us around the continent before we meet up with some friends back at Beacon." Jaune sat on the ottoman in front of the couch, and Pyrrha bit her lip in thought for a second before sitting next to him. "And we're combat partners on the same team. I lead it!"

That got every sister in the room to stop acting like they weren't eavesdropping to stare at the two. "...what? You lead a team, Jaune?"

"Yeah! Team JNPR, made of me, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos ( _"Hello again"_ ), and Lie Ren." He grinned at Nicole, then the rest of his family. "And we've got a pretty good record of Grimm kills. Second in our year with one-fifty-three. We started that count with a giant Deathstalker."

 _ **"WHAT?!"**_

Jaune chuckled a bit and nodded. "Yep. So, Pyrrha and I find a cave..."

Pyrrha finds the giant scorpion Grimm tossing him funny in hindsight, though if not for ramming into Ruby, he likely would've broken something. Which his sisters found appropriately horrifying. Though the tale of how the newly formed team RWBY ( **"Yes, it can get confusing if you don't start off with or without 'team' in front."** ) took down a giant Nevermore. That got a lot of awe, especially from Plum and Joleen who were whooping at the fact that a girl two years under the normal age of registration had made it and did such a cool thing.

"What, no love for your big brother?" Pyrrha found herself quickly Jaune-less after that. So many hugs... "Man overbooooard!"

* * *

Jaune stood in a clearing, The World floating behind him. His Stand seemed quite a bit more smug about its existence somehow, given it was constantly looking down at/on everyone. Being a literal giant and a full head taller than Jaune might have helped with that. Across from him was Jasmine, her own same-sized Stand in front of her as she stood glaring at him. Pyrrha hoped this wouldn't get too bad.

"And you'll keep your promise to stop trying to go off and get yourself killed when I win?"

"Just so long as you keep yours about stopping pestering me when I do."

Crossing his arms and leaning back a bit, the male Arc looked coolly at his triplets. Janine stood between the two, a paper towel in hand. "Fighters ready... begin!" Waving it, she took a few steps back.

"Go, Ace of Cups!" It seemed the purple and gold Stand decided to heed her command this time, as it flew at Jaune. They were each within a meter and a half of each other, so their Stands were able to interact without issue. " **Zora!** "

"Useless." The World swung a forearm up at the haymaking healing punchwoman. Jasmine flinched, grabbing her own forearm while her Stand recoiled. "Muda." The World swung a kick at Jasmine's Stand, landing on the outside of the other forearm. "Ggh!"

" **Zora!** " 'Ace' of Cups landed a blow on Jaune's guarding Stand, and started going hog on it. " **Zora** **zora** **zora** **zora** **zora** **zora** **zora** **ZORA** **ZORA** **ZORA ZORA** **ZORA** **_ZORA!_** " Launching a purple uppercut at the pale chin, Jasmine felt she'd managed to surpass her Stand's pain threshold for taking down Jaune's.

Then she looked at her only brother. He was still standing with his arms crossed, leaning back on a foot and looking at her, directly at Jasmine's eyes, calmly. Without looking like he'd felt any of her blows. "Muda." Jasmine found her own chin was the one being knocked high as her Stand was launched backwards and into the air by the counter uppercut. Landing on her rear, she groaned a bit, rubbing at the slowly forming bruise.

Janine ran between the two Stands. "Winner, Jaune!" Pyrrha sighed a bit in relief. She'd had faith in her boyfriend, but hadn't been sure if his sister would be as willing to keep to her word.

"No... no! This is your fault! You seduced him, you made him int-"

"Jasmine! Stop that!"

The defeated Arc triplet stared up at her brother angrily, tears forming in her eyes. "You're not supposed to leave! You're supposed to stay here, find some girl and be my knight like you promised! You're not supposed to go!" She started sobbing on his shoulder as Jaune knelt and hugged her tight. Rubbing her back, he tried to think of what to say to make her... maybe not see reason, but stop seeing things so childishly. Who'd have thought the supposedly most mature Arc triplet was actually the one clinging to her childhood fantasies the hardest?

Janine joined the hug, shushing her closest sister and trying to keep from joining in the tears herself. Pyrrha, feeling like a fourth wheel, went back inside.


	20. Chapter 20

Pyrrha, feeling like a fourth wheel, went back inside. She found that the atmosphere was a little less cheery than before. The two youngest were playing a game on the holoscreen, most of their older sisters and their parents watching and cheering them on. The one Arc sister that made it less happy than Pyrrha was expecting was Sandra, the squirrel Faunus looking at her coolly from the kitchen table. On being waved over, the champion swallowed a bit and went. Now what was going to happen...?

"So. You're the reason Jauney didn't come back home, broken or in a casket?" That threw her offguard. Still, it was a question she had an answer for.

"I am. After he fought off an Ursa one day, he came to me and asked for help with combat training. After a few weeks, he started being able to fend off the less capable students without his Stand, and the mid-range skilled ones in our year were hard won victories. Against me and a few other students, his record is still all losses though." Knowing Blake's style and reacting to it were two very different things. Ruby's speed gave the emerald-eyed girl trouble some times, but she still had Crescent Rose to manipulate. Weiss was far more versatile than either of them, but could be overcome with speed and persistence. Yang had the most losses on team RWBY, but that was mostly through ringouts where her aura gauge was still reading midway while her opponent had managed to maneuver them into the position.

Fighting Nora and Ren was impossible in class, but when they were all sparring during the days leading up to the Tournament... wow, that seems so long ago when it really wasn't... the two were a force to be reckoned with. Nora's seemingly pure offense approach was excellent at debilitating the still too rigid Jaune through repeated whacks on his shielth. Ren had a similar advantage as Blake, though a bit less of one over his team leader. Fighting next to a person got you a bit firmer of a grasp than just against them occasionally. Against Pyrrha herself?

...after she'd gotten used to listening to the wind when his Stand was attacking her?

She wouldn't admit it to Sandra, but Jaune had managed one win on her that didn't lead to him prematurely calling the evening's training off. She didn't count those first ones as wins for either of them because he was too worried about her and she was too humble. Or so he'd said some times. As had Ren. And Nora. And all of team RWBY. Sometimes Ms. Goodwitch...

Getting off track. Sandra was talking again. "-as a different look to him. I hope you're willing to take responsibility for anything that happens to him."

Pyrrha smiled a bit at that. "After a point, I'm sure Jaune will be able to handle any Grimm without help, from me or his Stand. Already, he can take out a group of Beowolves on his own. I'm confident that any responsibility to take will be on how far his skills have gone, but only to a point. I'm just the one that started him on the path to... why is that bell ringing?" The redhead looks curiously to the odd sounding bell. It was ringing continuously, and everyone had gotten quiet. Even the youngest sisters had paused their game to look with their family and guest.

The triplets re-entered at a jog. "Someone's trying to get into Castle Barbus again? Well, good an excuse as any. Dad, mom, mind if I take Pyrrha with me while I dissuade them?" The parents Arc looked at their son and almost said no on principal. But given his stance, and the look in his eye? Kakyoin looked to his wife and let Jeanne decide this one.

"...alright, sweetie. You two be careful, this is the third attempt this month. It may have been two different groups last time, but be careful, okay?"

"Will do, mom! Thanks!" Jaune ran upstairs to get their weapons while Pyrrha looked at her current top. A light red shirt that hung loose on her would be alright to fight in, as would her pants. The champion went to get her shoes on while her boyfriend came back down, Milo and Akouo in hand and Crocea Mors on his hip. Jaune had also put on his breastplate over his blue t-shirt, and his fingerless gloves, but evidently chose to leave the pauldrons upstairs this time. "Ready, Pyrrha?"

Standing and nodding, she took Akouo to strap the shield onto her arm the old fashioned way, following Jaune outside as Joleen tried to get the bell to stop ringing with a broom. After she managed it with some help from her Semblance, Pyrrha tapped his shoulder. Retrieving Milo from the air, she walks next to him and takes in the scenery. "So, what does your family have to do with Castle Barbus? I remember hearing that there was some tyrant named Barbus in our history class, but we weren't very far into that legend before the Tournament, right?"

Jaune nodded a bit, walking with his left hand sitting on his sword's hilt. "Yeah, Doctor Oobleck had just started us on that one after we were done with the First Faunus War." Taking a couple deep breaths, the blond started telling a tale that their teacher would not have done justice, in his opinion. It also would've been the essays he'd have aced without a sweat.

"I'll let you know now, this is a pretty biased viewpoint for this bit of history. Most people remember Barbus the Invincible as a tyrant that could not care less for the men he sent to his death, and that's true, don't let any of those historical fiction stories tell you otherwise. But he had a few different vices and secrets that no one outside his most trusted knights and the stewards of his castle while he was away conquering a nation knew. One of them was that his weakness wasn't just to poison, it was a very specific poison. Baldur Barbus the Invincible was allergic to mistletoe. The stewards of his castle grew some in secret and would have laced his food with it if they were all willing to be sacrificed to his sword while he was still strong enough to call for a potion that would either stave off the effects or just cure him all together.

"So instead, they bided their time and watched as he came and went. Eventually, one of them got the idea to use the mistletoe in a way that he'd never expect. After he returned from his latest conquest, Barbus called on his wife who had a new lubricant for them to try. The next morning, he didn't wake up and she still wasn't pregnant with their first legitimate child. So the kingdom broke down, with bastards old and young coming forth to try and claim the castle I'm taking us to as their birthright. Because Barbus was a panther Faunus, a lot of the bastards were also black haired, black eared and yellow eyed. But none of them had the one stipulation in the will that Barbus had written after he first became a king.

"None of the bastards were able to control the storms like him. Not one of them had a Semblance or dust manipulation technique that was like Barbus's, which is what allowed him to conquer most of his territory. He had a Semblance so strong that turning the sky and seas to his whim with a gesture was easy, or so the stories go. None of them were able to manipulate a blade shaped wind into a hole. Anyone that tried to just stab a sword in and out quickly died, anyone that tried to push in a stab's wind failed, and the one shadow manipulator that tried found himself without his Semblance for good after trying.

"For years, no one has been able to match Barbus. Anyone that could've wasn't the right sort of Faunus, or even a Faunus at all. For all we know, his descendants disappeared. But, as the Arcs are descended from his stewards, we keep his castle from being tampered with at all times. Even with all the damage done to it by the weather, there are still parts of Castle Barbus where people cannot get to because the main door isn't open. And the ground is too naturally soft to let any heavy duty equipment in. Would-be robbers have tried to bomb it open, tried their own new technologies, but nothing has worked." Pyrrha drew breath again after Jaune let out his own. The redhead bit her lip and wondered if any of their friends were able to do that. Maybe after they returned to Beacon, they'd ask and bring them here? Worth a shot.

The two looked to the rather imposing castle that stood before them and was coming into view as they crested one last hill. Even after so much damage was done thanks to fires and other natural disasters, Pyrrha could see that this was once a very beautiful place. She hadn't been expecting that.

"...the doors are open. How are the doors open? Come on, Pyrrha!"


	21. Chapter 21

Jaune and Pyrrha ran into the looming castle where they could faintly hear feminine voices coming from... somewhere. Dammit, why did the acoustics have to be so good in here? They continued forward since the doors along the hall were still closed. With the almost constant cloud cover over Castle Barbus, if not Patch as a whole if the weather turned right, it was quite a bit gloomier inside than was probably intended when it was first made. The Arc kept Crocea Mors at the ready, sheathed sword in hand and ready to be drawn if the group wasn't friendly. Pyrrha had kept Milo in hand throughout the walk, so it wasn't that hard to shift to a defensive running gesture.

After a couple minutes, the two found that the last door down the hallway was open. Large double doors that led into the throne room. "-you can't just sit on the throne, who knows what traps might be on it!"

"But Yaaaaang, this place is super old and anything that might have been set up to kill anyone probably rusted into uselessness years ago!" ...team RWBY was here? What?

...Blake. Stray Cat's power was probably what let them in.

Putting his weapon back on his hip, Jaune and Pyrrha took a more leisurely walk towards the group of girls. Three were facing away from them, and only turned after Ruby started waving and shouting greetings to them. They waved and greeted in return. The six converged near the middle of the throne room. "So, when'd you two get to Patch?"

"Few days ago. I brought Pyrrha here to show her my home and some of the sights on Isle Barbus. We-"

"Oh MY GOD YOU'RE FROM THAT ARC FAMILY?!" WBY looked at Ruby confusedly for a second before what she was saying in horror hit Yang. The boxer looked to Jaune similarly, though a good deal toned down and tinged with curiosity. Blake and Weiss were very confused at what was going on.

Before any of them asked anything, Jaune took a moment to look over them. They'd changed into the outfits from that one time they'd gone out on the town, though Weiss and Yang had prosthetic arms on their left and right sides respectively, though he wasn't sure how much shorter or longer Weiss's was under the sleeves. While he couldn't guess the materials, it was shiny and not just from the off-silver and canary yellow paint jobs. Weiss had apparently upgraded Myrtenaster given it looked a bit slimmer and Yang was missing one of her Ember Celica while Blake was wearing all of her ribbons around her arm, small black ears wiggling curiously in the open. Ruby didn't look to have any changes besides a few inches in height, but that may have been the boots for all Jaune knew.

"Ruby, what're you talking about? I know you said that there was a family of stewards somewhere on this island, but you never said they were named Arc." Weiss looked to her partner for an explanation. The girl with red tipped hair shook her head a bit to get her composure back.

"Because no one was sure if the Arcs in the legend were still alive and connected to the family of heroes that recently disappeared into obscurity!"

"Yeah, I definitely wouldn't have thought you were part of THAT Arc family, Vomit Boy."

"Urgh, dammit, I thought you'd forgotten that!"

"This is nice and all, but we came here for something. Jaune, since you're apparently connected to this place, would you know anything about it?" Looking to the cat Faunus, he glanced up at her ears for a moment before resuming his normal stance after the faux-depression of his dumb nickname from the start of Beacon.

"Actually Blake, I know as much about the inside of Castle Barbus as the rest of you. Before today, no one has been able to get in. Any secret passages that go in and out were either sealed or lost in the succession battles, and no stories from that time made mention of them at all. Though, if you want to know the actual history of Isle Barbus, I'd be happy to tell you all. I just got done telling Pyrrha the cliff notes version of how Barbus fell before we saw the doors were open." The redhead processed that for a second before turning to her boyfriend. Cliff notes?! That had taken up most of the walk there! How could... wait, yeah, just how Barbus fell. Nothing about how he started or ran his giant kingdom or anything. Pyrrha calmed down at that. Still... cliff notes?

Ruby, now a good deal calmer, and Yang looked to each other. They both knew most of the legends surrounding Barbus the Invincible, so maybe a perspective not from their teacher would be entertaining at least? The sisters agreed after a few moments, followed by Weiss and Blake immediately after. If the natives wanted to learn, they had no reason to deny it right now. ...well, maybe one.

"Could we find somewhere less dusty first? I'd rather not start hacking in the middle of a good story." Weiss brought up a good point to Blake. Ruining a story, whether it was being read or listened to, because one started coughing was not in good taste.

"Alright. Let's go... that a way!" And so the blonde boxer lead them to a random hallway that had more light than other doorways, so it was likely destroyed. As they crossed the threshold, Jaune started regaling them with a tale passed down the Arc family of something Barbus had down. Given how the school had focused on his conquests, Yang figured that listening to her fellow blond wouldn't hurt any.

* * *

She was wrong. It hurt a lot.

"And then Barbus looked to the butler and said 'On second thought, I'll have the cabbage.'"

Yang was laughing uproariously, leaning on a wall and holding her stomach while Ruby was squeaking her laughter on the floor, Weiss next to the scythe swinger and failing to contain her own guffaws. Blake was managing better, but it would just be a matter of time before she was leaning on the wall behind her and went from chortling madly to full belly laughs again. Pyrrha was still trying to regain her breath from the last story, so the giggle fits she went into while Jaune was telling this one almost knocked the poor girl out from hyperventilating.

The storyteller himself was seated against a wall, grinning but not doing much else beyond holding his girlfriend. Some of these stories were written down for Arcs through the ages to enjoy, others were passed down through word of mouth only. So sharing them with outsiders, while only mildly looked down on, was fun. He'd need to do this again. How would Ren react, he wondered?


	22. Chapter 22

An ancient door shook a couple of times, banging ominously. On a third hit, it started to slowly move inward. The angry yell of a young woman preceded the mighty punch that sent it all the way around to slam on the wall. "Yang, please don't destroy the doors."

"Well they're not cooperating, Blake! I'm not going to let that stand!" The blonde boxer stomped into the room, finding... another bed. And desk. And dresser. "Is there anything in here besides bedrooms?!" Her hair was currently on fire, along with her flesh fist and the whole of her prosthetic. Schnee-made items really were topnotch. Just having it able to take in her aura and Semblance with some programming and a bit of manipulating the remains of her old arm allowed Yang to punch a little better than before as well. She'd eventually be able to match the strength in both arms and have to upgrade the prosthetic from time to time, but that was something Ruby could handle.

"We are on the west wing of the second floor. I'd be surprised if Barbus had anyone meet him for anything outside his throne room, and sometimes his personal chambers if it was early or late enough in the day. Invincible conquerors of nations were allowed little luxuries like that." Weiss smirked a bit at the mixed red and lilac glare turned her way as Yang calmed down from having knocked in six doors and finding the same configuration inside. With variants of how destroyed or dusty the room was.

Jaune had found he didn't much care if Yang was desecrating a part of his family's history. Strictly speaking, it didn't belong to any Arc. Even after all these years, it was still 'Castle Barbus'. The only real connection he had to it was protecting the gates. With them open, he'd be the first to suggest to his family 'we plunder and see if there were any priceless artifacts left over from that time period'. Given the general clean state of everything though, anything that had been armor or weapons or skeletons had long since turned to useless dust. ...well, 'clean' given they hadn't come across such things. No one would call the many years' accumulations of dust actually clean.

Meanwhile, team RWBY and Pyrrha were eager to see what the castle looked like and imagined who might have lived where back when it was still in use. When Yang wasn't frustrated with the hard to open doors and same layouts room after room. The five girls conversed about this excitedly as they went along the corridor that lead back around to the stairs. Jaune found himself more curious what would happen if one of their number tried sitting in the throne. He could bring that up later, though.

"-and then we came to a hotel for lunch," oh hey he should probably listen to this, "where Jaune was able to just give his scroll to the receptionist and we were buzzed through. Hold your comments, that isn't even the weird part." The Arc found the interested and dumbfounded looks at that quite amusing. He kept his chuckles quiet for now though. Pyrrha started going into why he was able to do that, nearly word for word what had been said to her actually. It was... a little creepy, actually. Jaune hadn't thought she'd be able to recite every story he'd told her in that short timespan so perfectly. Apparently Ruby shared his thoughts. Or didn't appreciate the various murder mysteries she was being told about as they stopped in a room open to the air again. Probably that one.

* * *

Two blonds stood ready to knock down a door. It looked quite a bit sturdier than the others, but it was supposedly the treasury. Or the corridor where Barbus had his quarters. They wouldn't be sure until they knocked the giant wooden barrier in.

"HAAAAHH!"  
"Muda!"

Two solid bangs rang out in the dusty hallway. Ruby had it easy, pulling her hood around to her mouth. Weiss, Blake and Pyrrha each had taken the end of the cape and were using it as breath masks, clumps of dust floating down from the ceiling.

Progressively more bangs started being heard against the door. Yang's were a little uneven, her frustration increasing her punching power true, but the prosthetic arm was able to take more of her Semblance's boost while her remaining normal Ember Celica didn't cover her fist at all. That would probably need to be changed at some point. Another thing to ask Ruby about.  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

The World's punches were not at all uneven or slow, as fast as its user could invoke. What was uneven was where it was hitting. The barrage of punches didn't have a singular point of focus like Yang did at all. Jaune would figure he'd need to fix that next time he was training with his Stand.  
"Muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda...!"

After a solid minute of fruitless attacks, the two stopped and panted, Yang shaking out her hand as she looked at the Arc. "...that seems... really unfair, y'know?"

"Hey, I just use... use it. I don't... even know... the full extent of... the rules for this thing!" Punching an ancient door didn't leave bruises on his fists through the transference of The World to his body, it seemed. Good to know. But still, there was a bit of ringing in his head besides what happened from speaking that fast for that long.

"Alright, plan R it is."

"Awwww, but Yaaaaang!"

"Ruby, you're the only one that could break those hinges with the minimal amount of damage to the rest of us. So just shoot them and let's go in there!" Pouting at her older sister, the black-haired girl brought out Crescent Rose and took aim after extending the box-like carry form to make it more able to be fired. Weiss opened a few windows first, while the rest of the group went behind the only Rose. She was currently miming the motions for the fastest way to get the hinges off and not deal too much damage to her ears. Ruby went near the windows herself and went through the motions a few times more. Three loud... sounds rang out, followed by another three.

As the ancient doors started falling, Jaune wondered how one would classify the sound Crescent Rose makes. It was certainly not the sound a sniper rifle made, he remembered the sound May Zedong's made and the two were hard to compare. Even Pyrrha's shots from Milo didn't have that distinctive a sound. In a wild melee, it would be lost among the rest within a few seconds.

The six started walking along the doors, still blocking their mouths and noses, Weiss wishing she had some way to get the dust out of her hair while Yang didn't worry about it. That amused Blake a bit, who had her cat ears flat against her head so dust didn't get in them. Passing through the doorway, they all saw that it was not the treasury. Or a corridor with bedrooms.

It was a prison. And it was filled with quite a few skeletons.


	23. Chapter 23

"Nope. Nope. Nooope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope, nope!" Yang held onto Ruby's cape as the hooded girl tried to walk away from the skeleton-filled prison. Given how durable it was, a bit of gripping from her normal hand wouldn't tear it if a Nevermore's feather didn't.

"So, we have Ruby's vote. Anyone wanna go in?" The boxer looked to the others in the party.

"No."

"I'm fine out here."

"Nuh eh."

"Yes..." The four of them rounded on the redhead, who blushed a bit at the attention. "Well, I've seen a lot of horror movies and games and things, so this isn't that bad for me." Jaune put another tally on his 'things to talk about' list. You'd think he would know these things about Pyrrha after spending almost a full year with her.

"Well, you go on in, and I'll wait for you out here while team RWBY goes to do their own thing." Pyrrha tapped her chin in thought, looking her boyfriend up and down a bit. "Ngha!" Then she lifted him by his belt and weapon.

"You two have fun in there. Meet up in the throne room?" Yang let go of her sister's cape, and Ruby immediately activated her Semblance.

"Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope..."

"Yeah, that sounds good. See ya there." Jaune waved to the retreating girls as he was levitated into the prison. "...you could've also grabbed my arm or something. I wouldn't have fought you off to that extent."

"I know, but this just seemed a bit more... satisfying." It was a few minutes later that Pyrrha let Jaune down and let him walk beside her. As was normal, they held hands as they walked.

"So... you a fan of horror stories, or just got forced to watch them back in Mistral a lot?"

* * *

"But then I said, 'That's fine and all, but whose trophy is that now?'" Jaune laughed a bit at that. He might have been a bard, but Pyrrha was no slouch in the story department either.

"Man, kids can be so dumb and cruel! I still can't believe you went from a sass machine, to the most polite person I know. What made that change happen?"

The champion swung their hands a bit in thought, looking at the only intact spoils from the warden's room, a set of keys that were far too ornate to go to any of the cells. "Well, first, I entered Sanctum. I learned that being a Huntress-in-training and not just a young gymnast was not so easy. I made... a lot of enemies in my first year. It didn't help when I won my first tournament. After it, I started cooling down because I wanted to make some friends, but, no one would see me changed. They'd just wonder when I'd stop pranking them." Pyrrha shrugged a bit. "After that, I met my agent. She helped me become as you see now."

"Huh. Well, if you ever need to practice sassing at someone, let me know. I think I can handle it. And I'm certainly eager to see what happens when someone pushes your buttons wrong." He grins at the shoulder whacking. "What? Seeing grown men get torn down by young women like you or my sisters can be fun." Especially when said grown men say one thing too many about their looks... Jaune had almost gotten into a lot of fights before Beacon. Most of them were averted by his brotherly glare (or so he thinks), while the rest were defused by someone else. Usually the sister in question.

Pyrrha huffed a bit at that. "Just because I can doesn't mean I want to. It is hurtful for no reason, and I'm just fine as I am."

"That you are, you horror-loving mystery writer you."

A bit of spluttering met that. "Wha-di-Jaune! Grrrrr!" The blond laughed at her more as they exited the prison, the champion shaking her arm at him in mock rage. She joined in the laughter after a second, taking his hand again. The pair walked back to the throne room, where they found Blake sitting on the giant stone chair wearing the most gaudy crown ever. The cat Faunus currently had her head in her hands, trying her best to not be in the various pictures Yang was taking on her scroll, Weiss scowling at Ruby as the reaper whistled an innocent tune. "...what did we miss, Jaune?"

He pat her shoulder. "Probably better we don't know. There are some mysteries Arcs are better off not figuring out."

Pyrrha froze a bit at that as Jaune walked over to their friends. Was she being included in that, or had he just said that on instinct? ...please be both. PLEASE be both!

Shaking herself out of dreamland for now, the redhead jogged over to her boyfriend who was getting caught up on what else they'd found. Their attention went to the secret door situated right next to the giant window behind the throne. Apparently Barbus's chambers were through there, along with the library Blake had wanted to see. The reason Blake was wearing the crown, and hadn't taken it off?

"...huh. I would not have thought the third cat Faunus I ever came across would be Barbus's descendant. Still, that is some luck, falling into the stand the crown was on. At least you'll only need to declare yourself ruler of the castle for it to come off, right? That sounds like the sort of magic bull needed to get it off." Blake looked up at Jaune's words, giving him a deadpan look.

"Ruby already suggested that. I tried doing it her way for ten minutes. It hasn't come off." That would probably explain Weiss's scowling, if Ruby had been allowed to come up with the script to use for getting the crown off Blake.

"Alright... and I'm guessing you don't want to try that in public because you'd be pressured to stay here or something, you think?" At her nod, the Arc shook his head. "You wouldn't be. Trust me, you'd be ushered off Isle Barbus at the nearest opportunity once you get that crown off. The previous generation are a lot more willing to treat the old stories as fact than ours is. So the mayor probably has the right words for you to use, but you'd have to convince her to give it up and that you'd be on the first boat out of port as soon as you're done saying it and giving the crown back."

"That sounds fine. I really don't want this sort of shiny thing on me. Gambol Shroud reflects light enough as it is, I don't need something that does it so dazzlingly." If her concern was stealth, why wear a white belly baring jacket? Nah, not his concern. There'd be time to change into a more stealthy outfit if needed later on. For now, Blake just sat back on the throne with a sigh. "...why is stone so comfortable? Feels more like I'm on a really soft pillow than anything."

"Dunno. But you're probably the only one who'll think that." Jaune shrugged at the three curious looks sent his way. "Why would anyone besides the actual ruler be allowed to sit on the throne of Castle Barbus? Makes sense to me that the guy probably put some kind of spell on it to keep himself comfortable and make anyone not of his bloodline... probably get poisoned, if they tried to sit on it."

Yang blinked at that. "But, I already sat on it, Jauney. I don't feel bad or anything." At that, he just shrugged. He only knew a vague outline of Baldr Barbus, not what might or might not work anymore. He'd just speculated aloud.

"So, what's up with those two? I haven't seen Weiss look so angry at Ruby since the early days of Beacon." Blake smirked a bit at Pyrrha's question. The cat ninja leaned forward as she looked to Yang. The boxer grinned widely.

"She's mad Rubles decided to try and exercise her new girlfriend rights so publicly." That got an odd look from Jaune. He brought up his hand, and held one finger out as he waved it around the room.

"One, public? Two, new girlfriend rights? When'd that happen?" He'd have to give those two congrats later.

"Well, Weiss's dad came by a few days after you four left. He tried to get her to go back with him to Atlas, but she was adamant about staying here. Get this, though: she specifically sai-"

"Yang! What stories are you spinning over here?!" The four looked to the returning Schnee and Rose.

"Not a story, just facts! After all, you did say you had to stay here with Ruby, riiiiiight?" Apparently this was a joke that overstayed its welcome for two members of team RWBY, both of whom were blushing. "Yaaaaaang! Stooooop!" The pouting reaper got a chuckle from Jaune and Pyrrha, while Weiss looked like she was fighting a sudden impulse to do something after looking at her partner.

"And who says that it is your fact to spill? That sort of thing should be mine and Ruby's to share. You wouldn't like if we told them about you and tha-" Weiss looked like she'd gotten vindication as Yang suddenly started making odd noises and waving her hands to stop her. "Thought not."

Jaune and Pyrrha looked to Blake curiously. She shook her head and made a cutting motion next to her neck. Better not to ask, it seemed.


	24. Chapter 24

Jaune hummed a bit in thought as he rubbed his chin. Ah, his stubble was growing out again. He'd need to shave tomorrow morning. "Well, given the circumstances, why don't we go back to my house for now? It means not going back to town right away, and we might be able to get that crown off of you without a big fuss, Blake." That got an enthusiastic response from the cat ninja. Pyrrha smiled a bit, happy to see she had come so far from her shell.

Team RWBY had a short conversation among themselves that Jaune and Pyrrha felt no need to leave for. It was just them having a short debate about actually meeting his family. Weiss was against it only because she didn't think that they'd treat her friend right, but the sisters were able to get her to decide to give the Arcs a try. Knowing what she did about her boyfriend's family, the champion had a feeling Blake would feel a little overwhelmed by the kindness and normality she'd find.

* * *

Pyrrha found her prediction was right. No one pointed out that she was a Faunus beyond the hamster's wanting to compare how their ears felt on first meeting, while RWBY as a whole had gawked a bit at the sight of Sandra's ("Call me Sandy.") giant tail. And then Ruby had pet it and hugged it and named it George before Yang pulled her away via hood. After introductions were finished, they explained that no Blake was not making some fashion statement with the crown, yes it was very uncomfortable to wear, no she really couldn't get it off on her own, ow ow ow ow please stop trying to pull it off ow ow.

While Jeanne took her youngest daughters aside to scold them about their impulsiveness, Jaune gave a suggestion that the natural Arcs, including himself, disliked even thinking about. "Just one order, Blake. It doesn't have to be anything long-lasting or embarrassing, just tell us to do something simple."

They were all glad that it took Blake ten minutes before she felt comfortable even requesting something with authority. Even then, it had been because talk had turned to dinner and what would be done. "Ahm, Mrs. Arc, I'd like an extra helping of tuna sushi, please."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The bright blue eyes had dimmed as she said that before Jeanne snapped back to herself. Like that, the Arc family knew that Blake was indeed a descendant of Barbus the Invincible. RWPY found it a little disconcerting themselves, while Blake apologized profusely for having done it at all. Jeanne spent a few minutes talking her down before Blake settled on just being redfaced in apology.

* * *

"And thaaaat is your entire territory under my control, Weiss!" Confused and angry spluttering met the boxer's declaration, Yang grinning at her scarred teammate who was kicked out of the game on turn three. The younger Arcs all found it quite humorous, Joleen and Plum not hiding their laughter at all, while the triplets were all glad they had each other to bounce ideas and plans off of because they'd have lost to Yang just as quickly by themselves. Hooray house rules. Blake, now actually paying attention to the game, found herself concentrating heavily. This game... she needed to win!

Mostly because her ribbon had been bet by her partner. And a date with Janine as a counterbet. But mostly her ribbon.

Ruby, meanwhile, was talking with Pyrrha and Jeanne about what it was like doing tournament circuits. The Arc matriarch had held the Vacuoan circuit in her grip for three years but had gone to Shade after the last one, while Pyrrha's four year run was still regarded by the older woman as a major accomplishment. The Patch native was a little in awe, and somewhat jealous, but was still glad for the childhood she'd had. All the pressure these two talked about having gone through... even with her dad and Yang, the Rose was unsure she'd have made it to Beacon or even through Signal.

Uncle Qrow had been willing to support her throughout her career as a Huntress, but he'd been against either niece signing up for tournaments after his own Vytal Festivals. Now she could see why... kinda. Maybe hers was special though, there weren't any stories where they said 'And then Amity Stadium fell to a giant Nevermore' after all. That one was alllll hers! ...even if she hadn't been on Amity when that happened.

Ruby clapped her hands, drawing the redhead and blonde's attention her way again. "Pyrrha! I almost forgot to ask, did you see Penny on Amity? What happened after that announcement? I was, uh... chasing Mercury and didn't know what was going on until I met Weiss at the skyport after the weird announcement finished."

The emerald-eyed girl felt her breath hitch a bit. Oh. Right. Ruby and Penny had been friends... Glancing at the tiny Arc daughters that were currently watching the triplets bring Yang's armies to a standstill and forcing Blake into a corner while sitting on Weiss's lap, Pyrrha shook her head a bit. "Not here. There are some things I don't want to say in front of those two." Like, everything to do with this story.

Jeanne rose an eyebrow, but pointed over her shoulder. "If you need, go ahead and use my office. Sound doesn't go in or out very well. A necessity when I'm trying to get some paperwork done and more children than I can count are running around." Playdate scheduling nightmare, those days had been. Ugh... she was getting a headache just thinking about it.

As the Arc mother rubbed her head a bit, Pyrrha lead Ruby halfway to the office before the champion called on another to join them. "Weiss? Mind coming with me and Ruby? I think you'll need to be there for this." The snowflake looked up to her friend and partner, and nodded. Setting Joleen and Plum on her chair, Weiss walked to join them in the office.

* * *

Pyrrha exited the office, heart heavy and Ruby's muffled sobbing clear until the door closed again. Walking to the kitchen and ignoring the various eyes on her, the champion figured she might know why some people started drinking early now. She wouldn't be among them, but that story had been a lot harder to get through than she'd thought. It had taken maybe two minutes total, but still... Ruby Rose wouldn't be quite so happy for a while, she thought. Pyrrha had had some time to go over the event with her team during their recovery, and then deeper with Jaune as they travelled to Isle Barbus, but it still hurt.


	25. Chapter 25

Blake sighed a bit as she looked at the assembled Arcs before her. "And you're sure I'll be able to get this thing off my head by just saying these words?" She waved the script at Jaune, skeptical about it and the consequences.

"Yes, Blake. So just get it over with, and we'll all have a good laugh about this in a month or two!" The only male blond in the room seemed entirely too chipper about this to her and the female Arcs. Still, with only the eleven of them in here, at least it wouldn't be TOO embarrassing to say... oh Oum...

Blake took in a deep breath... and let it out. She took in another... "I, Blake Belladonna, claim the Crown of Barbus, the Isle of Barbus and all those living on it as my subjects! You Arcs standing before me, bow and accept me as your new queen!" Oh it tasted so rank...

The natural-born Arcs all went dull-eyed before kneeling in front of her. "Yes Your Majesty! We see you as the new Queen of Isle Barbus! May your reign last a thousand years!" Plum tried to poke Joleen out of the stance, frowning a bit along with her sisters and daddy at the lack of response. Blake swallowed a bit.

"...rise, Arcs, and remove the crown from my head. After, go about your lives as normal! This I command!" Jasmine moved forward to gently slide the golden crown off of her head, and set it on the table just next to Blake. The cat ninja looked around as the Arc family returned to relative normality. A cacophony of questions and exclamations came about. Jaune looked over his shoulder to see his smiling father, the redhead having clapped a hand on his shoulder. The blond walks over to the now sitting cat, patting Blake's shoulder and grinning at the golden eyes looking up at him. He left her to her thoughts after that, going to see what his Faunus sisters were talking about now while wondering why his dad decided to use his Stand to grab a can of soda when the fridge wasn't even a few seconds away by walking.

"It was only for a few seconds, but it still felt so weird! I don't think I can ever look at your hypnosis stories the same way, Sandy!"

And like that he wasn't curious any more. Jaune instead went to go grab RWPY from upstairs now they were done. Knocking on his door, he waited as the shuffling of three pairs of feet went on while his partner's laughter was heard. "I'm coming in."

Yang had apparently been about to say something crass in front of Ruby, given Weiss's stern look and hand clapped over the blonde's mouth. Said hand was then retracted as if burned... or licked, given the tongue Yang pushed her way and pulled back into her mouth. Jaune turned to look at the youngest Huntress in his room who laughed a bit at the two's antics, then to his girlfriend. Pyrrha grinned and waved. "Hello again."

"So, how long were they pressed against the door trying to listen?" RWY denied doing any such thing, one looking embarrassed at having been caught, one scoffing that they'd never do so, and the last playing it off easily.

"Since we heard you all say 'yes your majesty'." The trio of calls of her name got a wider grin from the redhead. "But I'm guessing everything is all done now you're up here?"

"That's right. ...probably best you don't tease Blake about this, just so you guys know. She looked a little anxious to wash out the taste of having to do all that with some fish. So, y'know, don't make her too uncomfortable by bringing it up so soon." Ruby nodded as if that was obvious, Weiss seemed thoughtful for a moment before agreeing, while Yang pouted. Pyrrha agreed with the young black-haired girl silently, following Jaune downstairs.

* * *

Yang yawned a bit as she joined her fellow blondes at the breakfast table. Ruby plopped down next to her, dressed and excited for the plans they'd already made for today. Needed a bit of change, but hey, what was life if you were inflexible? Weiss and Blake weren't awake yet, and... looking around, the silver-eyed girl saw Jaune and Pyrrha also weren't down yet. Along with half of the Arc daughters, it seemed. Now why was everyone sleeping in so late? It was only seven in the morning.

...well, the youngest and oldest she could understand. Little kids were either the earliest risers or the deepest sleepers, and the ones not in school or employment would value their sleep like no other if they were so inclined. Having been one and coming up on the other, Ruby still didn't understand why those in-between were so willing to let the day go by without facing it and having fun. They were wasting so much time just being lumps! Unmoving lumps of... nope nope nope nope nope nope nope. Not going there. No need to make the wardrobe choice appropriate for her mood. Though she would eat some of these chocolate pancakes in Penny's honor.

After some time, the remaining residents in the house were either joining of their own volition or had been pounced upon by munchkins. Weiss was quite amused at having seen Blake be the target of that, while said cat ninja was grumbling about devil children and too much sugar for her own good.

Jaune, Pyrrha and Janine were curiously red in the face as they came down to join the others. Jasmine found something odd happening as the triplets joined the table at last: her closest siblings weren't sharing what had happened. This hadn't happened very often as children, but when they started entering teenagerhood and puberty, some things were just designated 'do not talk about'. Apparently, whatever had happened on the third floor was in that category. The oldest siblings were quick to catch on the probable cause. Ruby was very confused as to why Yang looked torn between laughing her head off and dryheaving.


	26. Chapter 26

Jaune spun his sword a bit before sheathing it at his waist. Joleen and Plum clapped a bit at the finisher to the show. "Alright, now we really need to go. You two try not to give mom and dad too much trouble, alright?" Getting two 'yes's in stereo, he kneeled down and hugged the youngest Arcs tight for a moment. "Goodbye, Joleen, Plum. I'll keep in touch once communications come back up." Standing, the blond walks towards RWBY and Pyrrha as they leave.

The other Arc women all give their own goodbyes, though only one gets him to stumble and sputter. "I expect at least five grandchildren in the future~!"

"MOM! NO!" Jaune ran back to his family, having a heated discussion with his mother that only two other people could onesidedly understand. Blake and Pyrrha watched the amused and then dismayed face and lips of Jeanne Arc as she tried to... talk her son into... oh my. Blake tugged on her collar a bit, looking away from everyone while Pyrrha blushed and fumed. While he might have been legally allowed to do so, the redhead would not allow that to happen unless absolutely necessary.

Ruby looked at the two before turning silver eyes on her sister. "Yang, what's up with them?"

The boxer rubbed her chin a bit in thought. "...well. I think Jaune's mom is trying to tell him to do something that he doesn't want to for some reason, and I can't read lips from this far away. Can't hear 'em either. May-" she stifled a yawn, "maybe Blake'll be willing to talk later." Giving the cat ninja a quick glance, the blonde figured that wouldn't happen for a while. Possibly months. By which time they'd forget. However, "Weiss, remind us to ask Blake about this when we have dorms again."

The rapier wielder nodded a bit, also curious but willing to just stand by Ruby while they wait for now. "Will do." They both ignored a certain girl's grumblings about not wanting to remember at any time.

Jaune returns to the group, rubbing his face and seeming quite willing to just be quit of his childhood home again for a while. Possibly forever if need be. ...well, okay, maybe not that long. But he'd certainly give his mom the cold shoulder for a while. "Anyway, shall we go?" Stopping next to the redhead, he exaggeratedly offers her his arm, eliciting a short chuckle before Pyrrha slipped her armored appendage through his.

The journey to Quilt was quick and painless, and the six split into two and four there. Jaune and Pyrrha intended to return to the mainland while RWBY planned to stay on Patch for a while longer. "See you at Beacon! And be sure to tell us all kinds-a stories when we get there, Jaune, Pyrrha!" Agreeing to that was easy to do, with a return promise to hear about their own ventures.

* * *

Out on the open sea again, with a good seven hours of nothing but waves ahead of them, Pyrrha caught a nap behind the pilot's seat while Jaune tried to keep himself occupied. There weren't many birds out, he didn't have a slingshot anyways, and imagining different shapes on clouds only stayed fun for an hour. And that was him stretching it out as long as he could.

The Arc looked at his watch and sighed a bit. Three hours. ...say, he had an idea. Making sure the wheel was still set straight and wouldn't unlock, he spun in his chair and went to poke Pyrrha awake. Even as normal friends and partners, while she was dressed for combat, attacking her bare underarm was a good way to awaken the sleeping champion.

The bit of hand waving she tried didn't deter him any. Blue eyes looked on with amusement as the failed attempts at moving the offending fingers from her body brought about his desired result. Emerald eyes looked up flatly. "...yes?" Still too polite to speak frankly it seemed. Well, nothing wrong with manners.

"Still wanna learn how to do stuff on a boat?" That got Pyrrha to wake up some, and she sat up, smiling eagerly at being taught instead of teaching. Jaune moved her to the steering wheel, making sure she had a good grip before unlocking it and letting Pyrrha feel the difference between sitting on his lap and sitting on the chair while telling her a few things he'd learned from being on this boat on and off again most of his life.

Like most things, she took to it fairly quickly and without complaint. The redhead commented on the sea spray a couple times, but the light in her eyes was still a good indicator that this was a good idea to the blond. Eventually, though, the new couple found themselves acting on their impulses and hormones again. Unlike this morning, there wouldn't be anyone to interrupt the start.

* * *

Jaune grinned at the disappearing sun as he straightens his sweater before starting on getting his armor again. They had an hour left on the water, he estimated. Looking to the well dressed but obviously out of it Pyrrha, he took a bit of pride in having put her in that state without any dumb advice. Just him being him, and... well.

Letting his girlfriend get her wits about her again, the blond took his seat again. Checking their course, he corrects it a bit and turns on the headlights. The shattered moon would be fully visible when they went to dock, so he'd rather not be going into port blind, though the hotel did have its own lights.

After a few minutes, he smiles over his shoulder at Pyrrha as she came and wrapped her arms around his neck. Sharing a few quick kisses, the two turned their thoughts to what the next half a year would entail. Intense training, who knows how many battles against the creatures of Grimm, and upgrading their armor and arsenal at some point.

That last one got blue eyes to look at his sparse gear. A chest plate, fingertipless gloves, plated under the hem, shoulder guards, he needed better. And maybe some range on his shield, since his sword wouldn't be reforged into anything any time soon. Partly because he didn't think it could be, what with the Maidens' blessings and all. Speaking of, he looks to the Maiden aboard his father's speedboat. "So, what sort of armor should I upgrade with? I don't think this get-up will last too long, you?"

Pyrrha loosened her hold on him and leaned back a bit, looking at him critically. "Well, Jaune... we'll have to see after getting back to land. Part of it will be what's available, what isn't, and how we pay for any upgrades to anything." That reminded her, she'd need to be sparing with shots of any kind. Lien was a mostly electronic currency, and she didn't know how long it would take for communication to return to that level. Hopefully not that long, but they'd see. For now, there was a boat to dock and dinner to have.


	27. Chapter 27

Ruby hummed a tune as her team walked into the Beacon camp, now moved up into the courtyards of the school since the walls have been back up for a few months. The dorms were still uninhabitable in a few wings, so they were closed to all students and faculty for the foreseeable future. The classrooms were in working order, so those were back in use. Even Miss Goodwitch's combat arena had been fixed before the dorms.

With her hair slightly longer, Ruby had decided to change up her look some. She The silver-eyed reaper felt happy to return to school with a few new tricks up her sleeve. Plus, her uncle was going to be taking over combat class! While very much a drunkle, Qrow was able to sober up quickly when class time called for it. Or a serious enough fight. That little exhibition against Winter before the Vytal Tournament was a good example.

Weiss was beside her, and while still partners, their romance had been short-lived. It was sad, but neither of them were ready to commit just yet. Ruby wasn't sure which of them felt worse about it, but she'd given up trying to figure that out. For now, they were still partners and mostly friends again. Turning her thoughts to more combat related things (a much safer topic), they'd managed to upgrade just how they did Ice Flower and how long it lasted. Weiss had even let her look at Myrtenaster to try and upgrade it! She'd made a few suggestions, though the only one that was acted on was making the hilt a little longer and the blade a bit thicker in case she needed to slash more powerfully. It was still a Multi-Action Dust Rapier, with the blade meant for stabbing more than slashing, but some practical experience had given the Schnee heiress a look at how a wrong move could mean breaking limbs. Metal or organic. So a more flowing slash was the newest addition to her repertoire, and it was an actual slash instead of a bit of a flourish of the blade. The white-haired young woman had found it quite useful on their journey back to Beacon on foot.

Her new choice of outfit was fitting, and meant for practicality while being much more fashionable than the other three young women chose. Her ponytail had been moved a little lower and to the center to make possibly snagging, on branches or in claws or fists, much less of a risk. Being a little shorter thanks to some claws was slightly a bonus, but everyone agreed they'd rather not try Grimm Haircuttery again any time soon. Weiss still wore a combat skirt, same as her partner, but it was a little lower with how it hung and much less frilly. As was the rest of her attire. A blue sleeveless top went up into a black choker, with a transparent jacket of all things being used as a windbreaker. How she stayed warm in that, none of Team RWBY quite knew. The sleeves cut off into black cuffs that allowed her to hold Myrtenaster fine but looked like they'd interfere. Stockings led almost seamlessly into boots that were both the same color as her top, with a white rim to show where the support began. Ruby called it the 'Rebel' outfit, though she kept that to herself because Weiss would likely lecture her ear off if she said it out loud.

Blake had changed into a slightly more open individual, more willing to share her opinion without a good dose of snark behind her words. It was nice to hear the cat ninja input her thoughts without having to decipher any hidden meanings. Blake had also become more willing to join in the fun, more than before. With less to worry about, the whole team had actually gotten a little sillier, but Ruby felt that was for the better. Being grim and serious all the time was how her uncle Qrow had started drinking, and how Ironwood got all that white in his hair while looking relatively young. Blake's coming around to the Ways of the Silly had marked a change in her expressions and mood in general. She was a lot looser in her movements, which was a bit surprising to everyone but Ruby had figured trying to be what she had been so long had made her tense up a lot. While useful at times, being loose let her execute a lot more acrobatic moves.

Blake had changed into a much less monochrome outfit. The white shirt had been replaced by a slightly open-zippered black sleeveless turtleneck, and under that were slightly darker but still pale shorts. Those broke off mid-thigh and were followed by high boots that required a LOT of lacing up and down. Her jacket this time was more of a ruffled skirt than just two little tails, being a slightly lighter shade of brown than the boots. This was what Ruby called the 'Atoner', a name she definitely wouldn't tell Blake. Gambol Shroud hadn't undergone much change, just some sharpening and a bit of thickening, though under the jacket were a few multi-Dust bullet magazines, in addition to the many colorless Dust magazines she normally carried.

Yang had avoided any kind of hair cut and had managed to evolve her Semblance a bit. Instead of just throwing off a short wave of heat when angry, she now constantly generated a short field of warmth from wherever Aura originated. It kept the blonde from needing to wear anything that kept her good looks concealed by bulky clothes. Combat wise, she'd started to learn how to be a bit more patient with how she used her Semblance when Blake pointed out that she would've died to a couple bandits if she had tried to bumrush them as normal when it looked like Ruby was about to be overrun while they were on the road. Increased strength with damage taken was nice, but the lack of a defensive boost to go with it kept her from breaking down walls with her shoulder. Or trees.

Ember Celica would have been integrated into her arm while they were on the road, but they didn't have the right kind of tools on hand and Ruby did not want to be the reason her sister had to fight with half her normal damage output. That would not be good under any circumstances. Still, there were plans. And they involved big guns added to her gauntlet. For now, the biggest change was to Yang's outfit. Rather than a tube top under a jacket, that cut off at her stomach, the blonde now wore a yellow Mistralian style top with a crossing that looked like half an X and black lining, that cut off at her stomach. Some short suspenders were on her hips for some reason. They certainly didn't hold her ammo, that was in the thigh holsters now. Any new armor would have to be applied at Beacon. There were plans for that too. Ruby planned to call the full outfit either 'Fighter' or 'Mercenary', she wasn't sure yet.

Team RWBY walked into Beacon Academy, looking around and taking in the changes. All around, there were tents with students moving around. Some were milling about, others were practicing in the courtyard, while more were headed to the school, likely to take classes inside. Ruby looks around, grinning some. Weiss wonders what sort of accommodations they'll have on hand for her and her team. Blake hopes the library was intact. It had been awhile since she'd held a good book. Yang was looking forward to testing herself in a controlled environment against her fellow students. It'd take a while to relearn how to hold back to not deal lethal damage, and that was a fun challenge, she thought.

"Heeeeeey, look who's here, Rennie!" That got four sets of eyes to turn, locking onto an aqua and a pink pair. "Team RWBY came back!"


End file.
